Abnormal Psychology
by anastasiabeaverhousen14
Summary: slightly au. Jane is a librarian at the BCU campus library and Maura is a fresh med student looking for a book. R&R my friends :)
1. Abnormal psychology

Jane Rizzoli looked up from the pile of books in her arms when she heard the quiet, mechanical bell on the front doors of the library. Next came the quiet footsteps of what she figured were sneakers. Around the corner came a gorgeous blonde woman in a pair of scrubs and an overcoat. Around her neck was a green scarf and in her arms were a pile of books. Fluffy snowflakes littered the top of her head, and were quickly melting as the woman looked around the room for someone. The front desk was currently un-manned, so Jane knew she'd have to get down from her perch atop the ladder and drop the books in her arms.

Jane didn't need to look around to know that there wasn't anyone else in the main area, so she called across the room, "Be there in a sec!"

The women turned and watched the lithe brunette climb off the ladder and make her way to the front desk.

"How can I help you?"

The blonde smiled shyly, "I'm new to campus, and I'm unsure of the layout of your Dewey decimal system. Could you look up this number on your computer and tell me where I could find it?"

Jane looked over the scribbled number on the paper in the woman's hand and thought, "One-five-zero…that would be…psychology?"

The newcomer was surprised, "Yes. I'm in section 422 with Doctor Marsden."

"Marsden," Jane chuckled, "Yeah, good luck with her."

"You're a student here?" the smaller woman was surprised.

Jane shrugged, "I took some classes online. I had her for Abnormal Psych a couple years ago. She's crazy strict about formatting. So, be on the lookout."

"Thanks."

Jane blushed and looked back at the paper. "Uhh. One-five-zero…that would be stack fifteen, right side, first three shelves, second floor behind the statue of Edison. This book is on the second shelf up from the bottom."

"You know the exact shelf?"

"Yeah, I've worked in this library for nine years. I know every section, every shelf, every corner and every creak in the floor boards."

The smaller woman chuckled at the brunette's confidence. "And you're positive I'll find this book where you said?"

Jane smiled, "Yeah, I'll even bet you."

"Hmm." The blonde thought, "A nine year veteran librarian against a woman who's never set foot in the library before…I don't like those odds."

"I'll only ask your name as my reward."

The woman then realized that she and the other woman had never exchanged names.

With a sly smile, the blonde left the desk and made her way up the stairs and out of view.

Jane chuckled and went back to her task of restocking books. Within ten minutes, Jane felt a presence behind her and watched the blonde walk up, carrying yet another book in her arms and a smirk.

"Find it?" Jane very well knew the answer

She shuffled the books in her arms and held out a hand, "Maura. Maura Isles."

Jane took the woman's hand and shook it with a smile, "Jane Rizzoli."

With a flirtatious smile, Maura began to walk away with a flounce before she turned back slightly to smile at Jane, "Come check me out?"


	2. Athena & Persephone

It had been two weeks since Maura had visited the library, save the early morning that she'd dropped the book she first borrowed in the book return. But, almost every day, she'd thought about the tall brunette librarian. With the new classes, and new syllabi full of information to organize and plan, it left Maura with little time to spare a visit to Jane. Now, she sat in the coffee shop directly across the quad from the library, mustering the courage to go talk to Jane again.

* * *

Maura entered the library taking a deep breath; her eyes scanning the room. A couple of students sat behind the desk. One was checking out another student, and the other was reading a magazine with his feet propped up on the desk. Maura looked around the immediate area before walking up to the unoccupied student, "Excuse me." She called quietly

The guy looked up from his magazine with an annoyed look, "Yeah?"

"I'm looking for Jane Rizzoli. Is she working today?"

"Who?"

"Jane? Rizzoli? She's tall, brown hair, thin?"

"Oh…yah, she's upstairs. Third floor I think."

"Thank you."

Maura found the stairs and climbed with a racing heartbeat. Turning at the top of the steps, she walked down the center aisle looking left and right through each row. Coming upon the last row, her head spun to the left and saw a mess of brunette curls hanging almost to the ground as Jane bent down to file a book on the bottom shelf.

"Jane?"

The lithe woman turned her head and looked through a curtain of brown curls, "Maura?" She stood straight and pushed her hair from her face. "Hey." Long arms pulled two books close to her chest as she smiled shyly, "What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe you could use some lunch." Maura tried, holding on to the straps of her backpack.

Jane smiled, "I didn't know med students had time for meals."

Maura blushed, "When they're as well organized as I am, we have plenty of time. At least, today I have time. As for any other day, that is a different question."

The taller woman smiled widely, "Yeah, let's go."

Within ten minutes, the two women were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, feasting on second-rate food as they talked.

"I got a job here when I was fourteen." Jane explained after Maura had asked how she first came to work at the library.

"How did you get a job so young?"

"I needed a place to get away from my parents one summer. I came here to get some books because the library in our community was too small. Linda, the head librarian at the time, took pity on me I guess and let me restock books every day after school."

"Did she pay you?"

Jane shrugged, "Under the table; cash. So I didn't need a work permit. It wasn't anything much, but just enough to buy a snack before work and save a few bucks in the shoebox under my bed."

"Why were you running from your parents?"

"They fought a lot when I was a kid. My brothers were able to tune it out, or go out with their friends to play. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I went to the library. It's down the street from my parents' house, so I could easily run there as a kid. But, once I got to high school, I'd read all the books that interested me. The librarian there told me to check out this place." Jane chuckled, "Have been here since."

"How did a fourteen year old get access to a college library?"

Jane shrugged, "They don't advertise that they're open to the public, but they are. Normally you have to get a special library card, but Stacy let me read after I did my daily work. So books never left the building."

Maura took a bite of her meatloaf and thought, "What kind of books did you read as a kid?"

Jane smiled wistfully, "Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Renaissance literature, history, geography, almost anything I could get my hands on."

"Who's your favorite Greek god?"

"Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Yours?"

"Persephone."

"Queen of the Underworld." Jane chuckled, "Yeah, she's pretty rad. Why her?"

Maura's face became slightly downcast, "It was my nickname in high school. As a freshman in our speech class, one of our speeches was supposed to be about what we wanted to do when we grew up. My speech was about becoming a medical examiner. After that, people started calling me Queen of the Dead. In my Mythology class, when we read about Hades and Persephone, they started called me Persephone as well."

"Well." Jane started, sitting back in her chair, "Obviously they didn't know what they were talking about. Because Persephone is actually a badass. She's the queen of the Underworld. And everyone knows, queens are better and stronger than kings. So…ha." Jane took a bite out of her breadstick and nodded her head. "Plus, she's the goddess of spring time. With spring comes flowers and life and rebirth. You should take it as a compliment, a big one too."

Maura couldn't stop the feeling of warmth from blossoming in her chest.

Less than a half hour after that, Maura's phone beeped, reminding her of an upcoming class. She looked up at her meal partner with a sheepish smile, "I've got class in ten minutes."

"Thank you for inviting me to lunch." The brunette said as they walked out the main door of the student cafeteria that faced the quad.

Maura blushed, "Thank you for saying yes."

Jane smirked and shoved her hands in her pockets, "Well, I guess I should get back to work before Stacy has a conniption."

The blonde chuckled.

"But yeah. Let's do this again sometime. You know where I'm at."

Maura nodded, "I'd like that."

"You ever need a study room; I'll get you the prime room, closest to the bathrooms and vending machines." Jane winked conspiratorially

Maura laughed, and her retort was cut off by someone coming up behind them, "Hey Isles, you ready for the comp in bio-chem?" The blonde turned and saw her friend from class and held her hand up, asking her to wait, "I'll remember that Jane." She smiled, "See you later."

"Bye Persephone." She called after the blonde.


	3. Espresso & Snow

_Okay. This is a reupload of chapter 3. Some minor changes. If you've not read it before, then no worries_

* * *

A smiling Jane picked up an equally smiling five year old that squirmed and giggled as Jane held her close, kissing her pink cheeks. The weather was beautiful. Snow covered the ground in a thick, fluffy layer; perfect for making snow angels. The sun shone bright and warm on everyone in the park that Saturday afternoon in January.

xxx

xxx

Across the park, Maura sat in the window seat of a small coffee shop, working on homework alongside a classmate.

"Isn't that the librarian lady from school?"

Maura's head shot up and looked out the window. It took her a moment before she found a head a curls peeking out from beneath a knitted hat. A young child, with equally curly hair, but a few shades lighter, came running up to Jane and an older woman. Jane bent down and scooped the little girl up, kissing her cheeks and holding her close as the little girl squirmed playfully.

Maura's cheeks flushed as the implications flitted through her head.

 _Sister? No, too young. Niece? Hmmm…possibly. Daughter…oh no. What if Jane is married? I didn't see a ring…could be a, oh what do they call it…baby daddy?_

"Maura?"

The blonde turned to her friend, "Yeah that…that looks like Jane."

"She's cool. Did you know that she can tell you exactly where a book is in the library if you give her the identification number?" Jamie, the Bio-chem partner said, looking back down at her book.

Maura smiled and looked down at her own book, "Yeah, that's pretty cool."

"I didn't realize she had a kid…" Jamie mused, not really paying attention to her partner anymore to see the ideas and thoughts running rampant through the blonde's head.

Maura took one last look at her new friend before hunkering down to focus.

* * *

Monday morning after Maura's first two classes, she opened her email to find her last class had been canceled. Relief flooded the blonde as she realized that she had three extra hours in her day to study and do research in the library.

 _Huh_ , she thought, putting her laptop in her satchel, the library… _I wonder if Jane is working._

* * *

As she entered the library, Maura looked around the see the brunette at the circulation desk, looking over the shoulder of a student worker. She kept pointing to different things on the screen and down at a book. Someone bumped into the blonde and Maura realized that she was still standing in the doorway. The slight commotion caused Jane to look up from her task. The brunette smirked and waved slightly before holding up a long finger. Maura nodded and made her way to a stack of magazines by the computers as she waited.

A few moments later, Jane walked up to the med student with a wide smile, "Hey there, Springtime."

Maura blushed, "Hey."

"Social visit or educational visit?"

"A little bit of both." Maura shrugged, "I've got things I _should_ do…" she trailed off

Jane smirked, "and?"

"Wanna get coffee?" hazel eyes shone slightly mischievously

The two walked down to the closest coffee cart and quickly made their way back to the library, giggling over something Jane said as they walked through the main floor of the library to Jane's office in the back of the main floor.

Maura walked into the office behind the tall brunette to see the desk was very clean and organized. A computer monitor sat in the corner along with a keyboard in front of it. Next to the monitor were three pictures frames.

"Did you just get a new office?" Maura noticed the lack of decorations on the whole in the office.

"I don't get in here much. I probably should though. I have plenty of things I should do, but put aside. I love being a part of the flow of things and amongst the books."

Maura looked at one picture to see Jane, looking slightly younger, holding a toddler in her arms. It looked exactly like the girl she'd seen in the park. Jane noticed the staring and smirked, "Hayley Mae."

"She's beautiful." Maura cooed softly

"Yeah, looks just like my brother Tommy when he was that small."

Maura nodded and sat in one of the chairs across from Jane's desk.

Jane's smirk grew, "You can ask. I'm not shy." She sipped at her coffee.

"I didn't want to assume." Maura smiled sheepishly as she traced a finger around the edge of her coffee lid.

"She's my daughter."

"I saw you two in the park the other day. She looked too young to be a sister."

"I was seventeen when I found out my high school boyfriend got me pregnant."

Maura's eyes searched Jane's face, "You have no regrets?"

Jane's heart fluttered with love and pride, "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I never knew how much love I was capable of until I felt her first kick."

Maura smiled at the love she saw on Jane's face.

"She's five now. She's in kindergarten. She hangs out with my ma when I'm at work or my middle brother when he's home."

"What does your brother do?"

"He's in college at the moment."

"By 'middle brother' I assume there's at least another?"

"Yeah, he's...well, that's a long story, that I'm not really in the mood to tell, sorry."

"Oh that's not a problem. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright. Uh, My ma is retired from working in a bakery so she's got a whole bunch o' time. Plus, she likes having a grandbaby to look after."

"Did you have to drop out?"

Jane shook her head, lifting the cup to take a hearty sip of her coffee. Her eyes slipped closed as she relished the taste of the strong espresso. Brown eyes opened again, "I graduated a year early because of all the advanced placement classes I took in high school. I got pregnant after my graduation."

"Did you have plans for college?"

Jane nodded, "Yeah, I was set to go to uh…Dartmouth." Jane hesitated to reveal that part of her past.

Maura's surprise was exactly the reaction Jane expected.

"Yeah. But that didn't work out and Ma graciously let me stay till I got on my feet. Linda retired and after some shuffling in the higher ups, I was given a full time job here. Ma really helped out watching Haley while I worked and saved money living at home."

"Do you still live with your mother?"

Jane chuckled, "No, thank god. I was able to move about just before Haley's second birthday. We lived in an apartment in downtown for a while, then last year I was able to find a small house to rent a few blocks from Ma's house. It's perfect, because I can easily drop Hales there on my way to work."

Maura sipped at her drink slowly while mulling over Jane's words.

"Enough about me, tell me about _you_ , Maura Isles. Did you grow up here?"

The blonde smiled, "I was born here in Boston. My parent's adopted me a few days after I was born, so I don't know my biological parents. My mother is an artist, and my father is a professor at Oxford, so we traveled back and forth a lot as I grew. I finally convinced them to let me attend a boarding school in Switzerland. I stayed there till I graduated. Then I attended Oxford for my pre-med degree. Now I'm here."

"Why not stay in Europe for med school? I bet there's some stellar programs there."

Maura shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to come home."

Jane smiled, "I'm glad you did."

Maura's heart warmed her entire body, "Me too."


	4. Diplomas & Decorating

The next morning, Jane heard a knock on her office door just after she'd gotten in.

"Come in!" she called from her desk

At no reply, Jane called again a little louder, "Come in!"

Still no reply, Jane got up and walked across the office to open her door. Standing on the other side, Maura smiled up at Jane, holding a planter with a small plant in one arm and a box of six succulents in her other arm.

"Hey!" Jane's face lit up, "What are ya doing here?"

"I couldn't believe how un-decorated your office was, so I stopped by the greenhouse and picked up a few things."

"A couple of plants aren't decorations." Jane chuckled, letting the blonde in while taking the box from her arms.

"I know, but I also saw the banker's box of pictures by your bookshelf. I'm going to put those up as well."

Attempting to read her thirty-two emails, Jane kept getting distracted by watching Maura move furniture around the room. The blonde wore loose-fitting jeans and a sweater. The furniture to be moved included a small couch and coffee table, two end tables, a lamp and the planter Maura had brought. It was amusing and Maura was completely adorable, trying to decorate.

Maura found a final resting place for everything after the fourth arrangement. The small couch sat just inside the office door with the coffee table just in front of it. One end table sat at the corner between the couch and wall while the other sat between the two chairs in front of Jane's desk. The planter ended up behind Jane's desk, under the window.

While Jane was reading a particularly important email, she heard a gasp. Looking up, Jane saw Maura looking at a diploma she'd taken from the box.

"What?"

"You graduated from BCU? From here?"

Jane blushed, "Yeah."

"In psychology?" Maura turned towards the other woman with a surprised face

The brunette shrugged, "yeah, with a minor in criminal justice."

"How? I thought you said you worked full time after Haley was born."

Jane smiled wistfully, "I took online classes, and Linda let me study and do homework while on the clock. Are you surprised that I went to college?"

"No!" Maura pushed, "I'm not. I'm just surprised you had the time. You're twenty-three, have a five year-old, and a full time job."

Jane chuckled. "I had help."

"What do you want to do with your degree?"

Jane sighed; leaning back in her chair, "I originally wanted to go for criminal justice and eventually become a cop. But when I got pregnant, everything kinda changed. I did some soul searching and realized that I wanted to be a cop because I liked to understand people and that I wanted to help people. Psychology was the next best idea in my head. I thought maybe I could go into Forensic Psychology, and still work for the justice system in a way."

Maura's eyes shone with pride at her new friend.

"What?"

The blonde shrugged as she hung the diploma on a nail by the bookcase, "I know we're just getting to know each other, but you keep surprising me at every turn."

They shared a smile before Maura turned back to her work.

Next on the decorating agenda, was organizing Jane's bookshelves. Apparently, the books were not organized correctly, according to Maura. The blonde started to move the books around, talking quietly to Jane, telling her all the reasons for moving each and every book.

Resolving that she was getting nothing done with her new friend there, Jane closed out of her emails and watched the other woman, "What made you want to be a medical examiner?"

Maura put up the books in her arms and turned to face Jane with a soft smile, "When I was a child, my mother's one vice was watching crime shows, and reading crime novels. She loved to try and figure out how to crack the case, and loved it even more when it was something so simple, but overlooked." Maura sat in the chair across from Jane's desk, "You know, the tiniest piece of evidence. She'd make a game with me to try and figure out what it was before the show was over. It was one of the few things that my mother and I connected on. Because of it, science and math became my favorite subjects and the rest is history, as they say."

"That's so cool." Jane remarked, "does she still enjoy the crime shows?"

Maura laughed, "No as much as she used to. She complains that they're full of too much drama these days."

The brunette chuckled just as her phone rang. She sighed, looking at Maura, "Reason number three hundred and thirty-two why I'm not in my office that much: I hate talking to people on the phone."

Maura snickered as Jane picked up the receiver.

"Library Administration, this is Jane, how can I help you?...Yes…yes, just send me the list of books you want for next semester and we can put them on the order…yes…no we don't ship to the individual offices…" Jane rolled her eyes at the blonde, "no, you'll have to come down to the library loading dock and get them yourself…yes, uh huh…yeah, you too, bye." Jane hung up the phone and sighed, "Sorry about that, I hate working with professors."

"It's alright."

Jane looked around her office, "How about I run and get us some coffee while you finish, and then maybe we can get lunch?"

Maura smiled brightly, "That sounds wonderful."

The brunette pulled her wallet from her desk and was off.


	5. Valentine's and an Outing

Maura knocked shyly on the door of the small, one story home, letting her mind wander to the last couple of weeks.

January had turned into February, and the two women had grown closer over rushed coffees between Maura's classes and the occasional take out lunch when the blonde surprised her friend at work. They had exchanged phone numbers and were constantly in touch. They talked about anything and everything. Maura's favorite thing was when Jane texted her something encouraging when she knew Maura was studying extra hard for something or was working long volunteer hours at the school clinic's front desk.

As Maura heard some scuffling behind the oak door, she thought back two days to when they were walking back to the library, each carrying an espresso as Maura was just about to drop Jane back at work after their lunch.

 _The two women stopped at the back service entrance to the library and Jane suddenly looked nervous._

 _"What's wrong?" Maura asked_

 _"Uh... I have a question."_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"I've been meaning to ask you for some time now, and I've never been able to find the right moment."_

 _Maura's heart started to race rapidly as her mind thought over what kind of questions Jane would want to ask._

 _"Just ask me, Jane. Anything." she pushed gently, hoping that she could blame her pink, blushed cheeks on the cold Boston winds that blew through campus._

 _"Uhhh..." Jane breathed before smiling widely, "You wanna meet my kid?"_

Maura heard the dulcet timber of Jane's voice speaking just behind the door before it opened.

Jane stood before her, sock-footed, in a pair of straight leg jeans, an oversized sweater and her hair pulled back in a loose pony. The brunette smiled brightly, "Hey there."

She opened the door wider to let Maura in before shutting it.

"Welcome to Casa Rizzoli. Take your shoes off and let me take your coat."

"Here." Maura handed Jane a box of chocolates she'd been holding behind her, in the shape of a heart. "I didn't know what to bring, and tomorrow is Valentine's day, so I thought I'd just grab chocolate." Maura shrugged off her coat and slipped her boots off while Jane hung it up.

Jane took the box with a chuckle. "You can never go wrong with chocolate."

"Thank you for inviting me over."

"Yeah, come on in, someone is being very shy today."

The two young women turned the corner into a small living room. There was a long couch and a lounge chair facing a TV with a coffee table in the middle of it all. Covering the coffee table were coloring books, crayons and various other children's books. A small girl sat on the couch, looking very shy as she turned her head to watch her mother and the strange woman walk into the living room.

"Hales. This is my friend from school, the one I told you about. Her name is Maura." Jane walked up to the couch and lifted her daughter to stand on the arm rest, almost eye level with Jane. "Can you say hi to Maura?"

Maura smiled kindly at the little girl who was a spitting image of her mother. Curly, sandy blonde ringlets adorned a small head with dark brown eyes.

"Hi Miss Maura." Haley held her hand out to be shaken.

Maura shook it softly, with a chuckle, "Hello Haley."

Jane commented, "She calls everyone Miss. Ma really drills the manners into her."

The little girl smiled shyly, "You can call me Haley Mae."

Maura amended with a brighter smile than before, "Hello Haley Mae."

Jane squeezed Haley's side playfully, and stage-whispered in her daughter's ear, "What were we supposed to ask Maura?"

Haley's eyes lit up, "Do you like mac and cheese?"

The med student laughed, "I love mac and cheese!" she played up a little to gain the affection of the child, "How did you know?"

The entire evening went very well in Maura's eyes. The girl warmed up to her quickly, and chatted away about "Valleytimes" day the next day and how she and her mama had been writing in cards all afternoon for all her classmates. Haley looked up into hazel eyes with a bright smile, "Would you like a valleytimes card Miss Maura?"

Maura's heart melted, "I would love one. Would you make one for me?"

Haley Mae's smile brightened even further, "YAS! Momma will help!"

Maura couldn't help but laugh along with the five year old; she was very infectious.

"Do you have a Valentine?" Maura asked as Haley chowed down on a piece of chocolate her mother had given her from Maura's gift. The three were sat on the floor around the coffee table, sharing the box of chocolate "Is there a little boy you like?"

Haley's nose scrunched in distaste, "I don't like boys. Boys are smelly and gross." The little girl looked up at her mother, "Right, Mama?

Jane nodded mock-seriously, "They are very smelly and gross."

"My best friend is my Valleytime. Shelly is her name." Haley suddenly looked seriously up at her mother, "Mama, is Emmy gonna be your Valleytime again."

Jane blushed furiously; her eyes darting to Maura's for a split second before she leaned down slightly, "Uh…" she spoke quietly to her daughter, "Emmy moved back to New York, remember? She can't be my Valentine."

Haley looked a little sad, but nodded as she tried to sneak another chocolate from the box.

"Heya, hold on there, little grabby fingers." Jane chuckled as she swooped the box from reach, "I think it's time someone got their PJ's on."

Haley pursed her lips but agreed, "Okay Mama." Little feet trudged down the hall and out of sight.

Jane finally dared a look at Maura. The blonde sat on the floor a few feet away, looking at the empty glass in her hands like it held something very important.

Jane chuckled humorlessly, "I can't believe I just got outed by a five year-old."

The blonde didn't know what to say. Her heart was overjoyed that Jane was detached and didn't have a husband. Then she was happy because it didn't sound like she even had a girlfriend. But, then what if Jane didn't feel the same kind of feelings that were bubbling up slowly in Maura's heart? What if Jane didn't see Maura in the same way Maura saw her? All of Maura's happiness was short lived and replaced with anxiety.

The brunette looked up at the woman across from her, "Maura, I know that this can sometimes come as a surprise to people, seeing as I had a kid with a guy, and I'm also... gay. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything sooner. Honestly I didn't want to scare you off. I like you a lot, and I thought we could be good friends." Jane sighed and her voice trailed off, "And I don't have many of those."

The med student stood suddenly and then hesitated a moment, "I don't want to intrude any longer, Jane."

Confused brown eyes looked up at her friend, "What?"

"Haley is going to bed soon and I think I should be heading home."

Jane jumped up and followed Maura to the front door. "Maura?"

"Thank you for inviting me over and thank you for dinner. I had a lovely time, but I think it's time that I head home. I have a paper to write for tomorrow that I haven't started on." Little red spots started to appear on Maura's chest, but were covered by the coat she was pulling on quickly. Maura had a slight inability to lie, and when she did, it gave her hives.

"Maura, wait…let's talk about this."

Panic was settling in deep to Jane's bones as Maura almost ran from Jane's house.

"Maura please!"

"Good night Jane." The blonde mumbled as she walked out the front door

Jane could only watch as Maura slipped into her car and sped off.

"Mama? Where's Miss Maura?" the girl had come back out, now dressed in princess pajamas, holding a small stack of red construction paper and crayons.

The brunette just stared out the front door with sad eyes, "She went home baby."

Haley pouted and sighed, "But I didn't get to say goodnight!"

"Me either baby, me either."


	6. Apologies & Pizza

Jane tried to text Maura a few times the next morning, but never got a response. Haley had made a valentine for the blonde before she went to bed and begged her mother to give it to Maura the next morning.

If anything, Jane didn't want to bother Maura, but just wanted to give her the card her daughter had spent a half hour on, long past her bedtime.

So she did the only thing she could think of doing. Jane went to the campus post office and begged the pimply student behind the desk to pop the card into Maura's box immediately.

Within the hour, Maura was sat in her room with the card in her lap, eyes poring over every little detail. The hand drawn hearts and smiley faces in every corner and extra space. In the middle was some crude, childlike attempt at writing the name _Miss Maura_ , and then at the bottom was a rather large _Haley Mae_. Both the 'e's in Haley's name were backwards and that touched Maura's heart in ways she didn't quite understand.. In between was what Maura had come to know as Jane's script.

"Thank you for the chocolate and for coloring with me last night. Happy Valentine's Day. Haley Mae."

Maura had expected that Jane would've written something else, maybe on the back, of her own. Maura expected something akin to the two voicemails and six texts in the last twelve hours. But the card in itself was completely from Haley Mae.

The sentiment warmed Maura's heart. She'd not gotten a Valentine's card since she was a child. And even then, the card had been from a maid in her parents' household. Going to a private school for most of her childhood, Maura was never afforded the chance to write or receive a Valentine's card in school or at home.

Maura thought over the night previous with a sad smile as her eyes traced each heart on the red construction paper. She hadn't wanted the evening to end. Conversation had flowed easily between Jane and Maura, and even with Haley Mae. The little girl had opened up quite a bit over mac and cheese and coloring books. Maura had watched Haley Mae stand on a small step stool as Jane taught the little girl each and every aspect of cooking the meal. Maura suspected that Jane had been taught the same way as a child, from her own mother.

The blonde sat back in her chair and thought back over all the friendships she'd had over the years. It did not take long. Maura's high intelligence and awkward social skills often put people off; especially in the early stages of friendship. It got to the point where Maura avoided extra curricular activities and functions outside of the classroom setting.

However, since meeting Jane, Maura hadn't had any problems interacting with the brunette. Jane unconsciously made the blonde feel comfortable in her own skin. Jane never made a mean or backhanded comment like Maura was used to. The blonde was confident in herself for the first time in a very long time.

The awkwardness of the previous evening had been all Maura's fault. Over the last few weeks, the blonde had started to develop feelings for the librarian. Small things Jane did, like smirk at her when she was about to do or say something mischievous, or when Jane would text her to say good morning, or text her at night to tell her to stop studying and sleep. It was in the coffees the two shared, the meals, every little second, Maura fell harder and harder for the other woman. Yet, she had had no inkling that Jane might be gay, so the blonde resigned herself to the fact that her feelings would be unrequited.

So when everything was laid out, to Haley Mae's credit, Maura was unsure of how to proceed. She'd mentally prepared for every eventuality to Jane finding out her feelings, except for the one's where Jane _might_ actually have feelings back. And Maura Isles did not like to be unprepared. So, she stopped things before they started. She ran, even though she saw the look of utter confusion on Jane's face as she ran out the door; even though Jane kept calling her back as she got into her car and drove away.

Now, as she held the child-made Valentine in her hands, she realized that she needed to talk to Jane. She didn't want to lose what could be the best friend she'd ever have, and possibly…hopefully…something more.

* * *

Maura walked into the library with a racing heart. It had taken her two hours to muster the courage to face Jane. She was wildly embarrassed for her behavior and since she already didn't do well in awkward situations, she was dreading this.

Jane stood at the front counter, leaning over a chair to get to a computer, looking intently at the screen. Maura approached quietly and took a deep, quiet breath, "Miss Rizzoli?"

Jane's head popped up.

Maura suddenly blushed, "May I speak with you a moment?"

The brunette nodded and looked over to the student a few feet away, "Jack, watch the desk for awhile."

"Yes ma'am." The student said with a nod of his head.

Jane gestured towards the back offices with a tilt of her head and Maura followed.

The taller woman stopped them at the door, "What's up?"

Maura looked around before opening her mouth and word-vomiting, "Jane I'm so, so, so sorry for running out on you last night. I cannot believe how rude I was. You invited me into your home, and I ran out with barely a proper goodbye. My mother would be appalled. I don't do well in awkward situations, and I tend to ramble, much like I am right now. I say the wrong things and end up embarrassing myself and whoever I'm talking to. I've been working on it over the past few years and I guess I've not gotten good enough at it yet." Maura stopped because she ran out of breath. Taking a deep breath, they made eye contact and both chuckled.

Maura sadly smiled at the brunette, "I wasn't mad that you're gay, Jane. That wasn't the problem." She paused, unsure if she was ready to reveal her feelings quite yet. "Listen, how about I take you to lunch as a payback for last night? We can talk more."

Jane pretended to think and weigh her options, "Hmmm…well, I guess I could agree to that. We have one problem though."

"What?"

Jane reached for the door handle and opened the door slightly.

Both women looked inside the office to see Haley Mae coloring in a coloring book at Jane's desk.

"Ma had to take my youngest brother to the doctor this morning, so I get to play "bring your daughter to work day". You mind if she comes along?"

Maura just smiled and looked to the little girl, "Haley Mae?"

Haley looked up and smiled at the woman, "Miss Maura!"

"You hungry?"

The little sandy blonde rolled her eyes dramatically back into her head while moaning, "Soooooo hungryyyyyyy!"

Jane rolled her eyes and Maura couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up.

* * *

They sat down at a pizza joint awhile later, chowing down. Well, Jane and Haley were chowing down and Maura munched on a salad.

Jane took her phone out, opened a game, and handed it to her daughter, "Here baby."

Soon, Haley was engrossed in the game, and Jane looked across the table at the blonde, "So...last night."

Maura's cheeks turned a rosy pink. "Last night..."

"What happened?"

Maura decided to avert the question, "Who's Emmy?" Maura whispered the name as to not draw Haley's attention.

Jane sighed, "Just...an ex."

"She was your valentine." Maura smirked.

"Yeah...we were together on and off for two years." Jane nodded, "Hay doesn't have a lot of memories of her. Just little things like Valentine's Day and maybe Christmas. Nothing negative" The brunette sighed, "Thank god." she whispered

"Did it ever have the potential to be permanent?"

Brown eyes squinted slightly, "Why you wanna know so much about my ex?"

Maura fought with her body so hard to contain the blush from rising to her cheeks as she spoke, "I'm curious. We're close friends right? Don't friends talk about this kind of stuff?"

Jane shrugged, "Yeah I guess..." she paused, thinking over Maura's previous question, "I don't think "permanent" or "serious relationship" or even "commitment" were in Emily's vocabulary. We had some...disagreements about the future."

"Like what?" the blond was curious as she sipped on her fruited water

The brunette looked down at her daughter lovingly and ran her fingers through Haley's hair, "Emily was jealous of her." Jane ducked her chin towards her daughter.

"Why? How?"

"In her eyes, I spent more time, and _wanted_ to spend more time with my daughter than I did with her. I tried to get her to understand that's what it's like to be a mother." Jane shook her head, "You'd think I smacked her every time I said that; she was so hurt. But she just didn't understand why I wouldn't just leave Hay with my ma more often so we could "get away"." Jane looked down at the kid next to her, and whispered, "She doesn't know what it's like to be a mother. Yeah, she drives me crazy sometimes...but I could never choose a relationship over my baby." Brown eyes met soft, understanding hazel, "Whoever I end up with will have to understand that; accept that fact: that with me...comes Haley."

Maura reached a hand across the table and laid it atop Jane's, "The _right_ person won't see it as something they have to accept. They'll see it as a joy; as just another wonderful part of you. They'll fall in love with _both_ of you."

Jane smiled softly, causing Maura's heart to almost combust with love.

Realization dawned in brown eyes, "Okay, enough about me...why did you really leave last night?"

Maura blushed and looked down at her hands, "Like I said earlier, I struggle with awkward situations."

"Yeah, and? What was awkward about the situation?"

"I don't know. I just...I'm not good with...words."

Jane chuckled, "I can tell." Her expression turned serious as she tried to decipher Maura's body language, "Maura are you...homophobic?" she whispered the last word

"No!" Maura's head shot up, "No, definitly not...just..." she took a deep breath and sighed

The brunette saw the other woman was floundering and decided to give her a break, "Listen...if you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

Maura saw understanding in warm, brown eyes.

"You tell me whenever you're comfortable, okay?"

"I'm gay..." Maura blurted

Jane's eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open slightly at the sudden turn of events. "O...kay?"

Maura covered her rapidly reddening face with her hand, "I'm not...out." she paused

Jane chuckled at her friend's unnecessary distress and reached across the table to pull her hands from her face, "Maur, there's no need to be embarrassed...lots of lesbians are still in the closet."

That made Maura groan with even more embarrassment.

The brunette couldn't help the small laugh at her friend's expense, "Calm down woman."

"I've never met another gay person before." Maura mumbled, finally uncovering her face. "and listening to you come out just..." _made me love you even more,_ she thought, "stirred up a lot in my head and I had to leave to sort it out."

Jane just smiled and held out her hand to shake Maura's, "Welcome to the wonderful world of dating women."


	7. Pizza & The Talk

A/N yeah. I was on a roll there for awhile and then I hit a block. Sorry. I've got some new ideas for this fic, so hopefully I'll grind out a few chapters soon. Thanks for staying with me.

* * *

It was a couple weeks later, once Maura's classes calmed down a bit, that Maura was able to accept an invitation to the Rizzoli residence again. When she arrived, she found a young man standing on the porch with two pizza boxes. Jane was signing something and smiled when Maura walked up, "Perfect timing Maur!"

Maura smiled politely at the pizza boy as he walked away and she walked in the door.

"Hi." Jane said with a big smile

"Hello." Maura smiled back, slipping off her jacket.

There was a thudding of small feet down the hall and then a squeak, "Miss Maura!"

Maura held her arms out for what had become the norm between the blonde and the little girl. Haley ran into Maura's arms for a hug and looked up at her with wide eyes and a bright smile, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Miss Haley Mae."

"Are you going to eat pizza with us?"

Jane chuckled, "Yes, she is Haley Mae. Like I've told you multiple times today."

Maura just laughed as she followed the two women into the living room.

"I hope you like pepperoni or cheese. I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just got the basics."

The blonde shrugged, "I'm open for anything."

Jane dropped the boxes on the coffee table and walked towards the kitchen; Maura on her heels.

"Wine or beer?"

"What goes better with pizza?"

"Beer!" the brunette pulled two beers from the fridge and they made their way back out to the living room to see Haley already putting a DVD in the player.

Jane sat on the couch, Maura joining her, "Haley got a gold star on her spelling test today, so I said she could pick the movie tonight."

Haley beamed at her mother as she plopped down on the floor.

Maura tickled Haley's neck playfully, "Wow! Good job Haley!"

* * *

A few minutes into the movie, Jane looked over to Maura, who was pulling her first piece of pizza from the box. She placed it on her plate and started to look around the table for something.

Maura got up and went into the kitchen, coming back a moment later with a fork and knife. Haley looked at Maura with a confused look and then giggled, "Miss Maura! You don't eat pizza with a fork."

Maura looked at Jane and then back at Haley, a look of innocence on her face, "Then how _do_ I eat pizza?"

Haley stood up and took her own piece, showing Maura to fold the crust in half, lengthways, and eat from the tip, "Like this!"

Maura nervously picked up the pizza and did as shown and took a bite.

Jane smiled to herself at how easy Maura interacted with her daughter.

As the movie ended, Haley was passed out on the floor. Jane picked her up carefully and after depositing her in bed, returned to the living room to see Maura curled up on one end of the couch. Maura's legs were tucked under her, and held a glass of wine in one hand.

The brunette sat on the other end of the couch and sipped at her own wine. They saw quietly for a little while before Jane finally spoke, "Can I ask a personal question?"

Maura nodded, looking at her friend.

"You said at lunch a few weeks ago that you're not out. Have you ever talked to anyone about being gay? Like, just to talk it out?"

Maura sighed and shook her head, "You're the first."

Jane smiled softly, "I had a feeling. Would you like to maybe talk about it? No pressure."

The blonde looked down at the glass of wine in her hands, "I'm not sure where to start."

Jane turned her whole body towards the other woman, lifting her legs to sit cross-legged, "How about this…when did you first know you were gay?"

Maura blushed hard and out fought through her nervousness.

Jane watched the younger woman war with herself, trying to find the right words.

"Deep down…maybe four or five years ago. Accepting I was gay…last year."

Jane nodded, content to listen.

Maura took another deep breath and sighed, "However, my first experience of being gay, as you could say, was in high school."

The librarian smirked, "You kiss a girl?"

Maura blushed even harder and Jane heard her breathing pick up a little in nervousness, "A little more than kissing."

Jane's jaw dropped with a wide smile, "No…"

 _Might as well bit the bullet,_ Maura thought. "Her name was Meav. She was an Irish… _goddess_." Maura said wistfully, "Beautiful red hair, pale skin, great body." Hazel eyes glassed over a little as she went back into the memory fully.

"We were the same grade though we were two years apart. She was 16 and I was 14 and I had this terribly…wonderfully deep attraction to her. She was so smart and knowledgeable about not just school, but the world. Her parents were biologists and she'd grown up traveling the world with them. I could listen to her for hours." Maura paused, "She was very mature and by the time she turned 17, she was known to be what everyone called… a huntress."

Jane's face showed confusion.

Maura slapped herself inwardly for blushing so much, "Well, she had a habit of sniffing out closeted lesbians in the school and uhhh…." Maura's blush traveled down her neck, "deflowering them." She smirked

Jane chuckled and nodded.

"It was never forced." Maura wanted to clarify, "she just had this air about her that made everyone just fall in love with her."

Jane lifted the beer to her lips and took a sip, "did you fall under her spell?"

Maura sighed wistfully, "I fell so hard for her. And the next day, she had disappeared. I woke up in my bed, where we had been, and went searching for her. I knew what she was and what she did, but I had this thought that I could change her. That _I_ could be the one to get her to settle down and be my girlfriend." She sighed, "That's what you get when you're fourteen."

Jane nodded knowingly, "I went looking for her, but someone said she'd left for a trip to Ireland to see her family. When I heard she was back, I went running to her dorm room to find her with a senior soccer player's head between her legs."

Jane hissed, "ouch."

"I was devastated. I cried for a week. It was my first sexual relationship."

"You must've been so confused." Jane cooed

"Yes, I was. Two years later when I was home after graduation, I met a young boy who fancied me. I…decided to have sex with him, to see if I really _was_ gay." She trailed off

"And?"

Maura leaned her head against the back of the couch, "he didn't even get his pants past his hips before I stopped him. I had absolutely no desire to see what was between his legs."

Jane laughed, "Yeah, I know that feeling."

They were quiet a moment.

"When did _you_ know?"

Jane smirked, "My first kiss was with Sally Walker in first grade. I was in love with her until I saw her kiss Joey Fatone at recess a week later."

Maura beamed, "Aww. Poor little Jane."

Jane shrugged, "It wasn't till middle school that I realized I was gay. I didn't even know it was a thing, you know, being gay. Ma and Pop always talked about me marrying a nice man someday and having a whole bunch of kids. I never realized why I was never into the idea until eighth grade when our sex-ed teacher told us about same sex couples. After that class, its like I knew who I was suddenly. Things started to make sense."

The blonde nodded as she sipped her wine. She knew the feeling all too well.

"I realized that there was a reason I always tried to sneakily get a look at girls in the locker room during PE. There was a reason I liked hanging out Jamie Peterson, and it's not because we were best friends." Jane shrugged, "I didn't come out till after high school, but after that class, I knew what I wanted."

"Then why did you have sex with a boy?"

Jane sighed. She knew this question would come at some point. "Casey had grown up in England, and still had an accent, even though he'd lived in the states since elementary school. He was an amazing athlete, but people always teased him still. I was super boyish, and played all the sports, so I was a little bit of an outcast as well. So we hung out a lot once we got into high school. People left us alone once we started dating. I wasn't _out_ , and no one knew, at all. I was tired of being alone, and his company was soothing. He was so nice, and kinds and sweet. I think, deep down, he knew. I got kinda depressed my senior year. You know, the weight of carrying a secret, like being gay. It was really getting to me. I even went through a time where I thought I had imagined it all, and I should try being straight. That's where Casey came in. He was a year older, and had joined the Army. When he came back after basic, we slept together a few times. A few months later, he was stationed somewhere in Texas and I was pregnant."

Maura was fascinated by this wonderful woman sitting next to her.

"When did you tell your family?"

Jane shrugged, "I never really did. I just brought home my first girlfriend, Emily. Ma told me she'd known since I was a kid. My brothers just shoved me and asked me to come play pick up football like nothing had happened. And my pop wasn't in the picture, so I didn't need to tell him. Have _you_ told your parents yet?"

Maura shook her head, taking a sip of wine, "No."

"Why not? Are they very traditional?"

Maura chuckled, "No, definitely not. They're very modern. My mother is an artist and my father is a professor of cultural anthropology. So he's very with the trends."

"Then why are you nervous to tell them?"

Maura sighed, "I've never been close to either of them, especially my mother. We don't talk like stereotypical mothers and daughters. I haven't talked to her in months. She has her own life, and I have mine. And my father doesn't really talk unless its about work, or books."

"I'm sorry." Jane said sincerely

Maura waved her hand slowly, "It's quite alright. I've gotten used to it."

"Yeah, but it sucks when you don't have parents that care."

Hazel eyes met concerned brown, and felt Jane's words hit her heart. They weren't said to cause pain or judgement, but just a simple understanding between friends.

Maura smiled sadly, "Yeah, it does suck."

Jane touched Maura's leg comfortingly, "I think, that when you're comfortable, you should tell them. It might help solidify some of your mixed emotions and do you some good."

Maura nodded, thinking how that conversation might go.

"Okay, enough heavy talk. Let's talk about something more fun. Or hey!" Jane jumped from the couch and picked up the pizza boxes, "Let's make some cookies."

"For what?" Maura followed her friend into the kitchen

Jane shrugged, "To _eat_ , babe." the term of endearment slipped out easily as Jane laughed

The blonde just sat at the island counter with a big smile and watched Jane pull out all the ingredients.

* * *

After baking a couple dozen cookies, Maura left the Rizzoli residence with a tupperware of still warm cookies and drove back to her apartment.

When she walked in the door, her earlier conversation with Jane kept nagging at her. Sitting at the desk in her room, she watched the clock a moment before picking up her cell phone. Dialing a familiar number, Maura waited until someone picked up on the other end.

"Hello?"

Maura's heart pounded, "Hello mother." her voice shook slightly, "do you have time to talk?"


	8. Grilled Cheese & The Ex Returns

A/N: Guys. I've tried writing this chapter at least 20 times. This is like…draft 10

* * *

Midterms. Maura had finally reached the middle of the semester and spring break was only two weeks away. She had been taking five classes and she only had three midterms. The other two classes only required a paper. And since she'd written those months ago, she could spend all of her time studying for the tests.

In the previous few weeks, Maura had really nailed down a routine.

1\. Wake up

2\. Study

3\. Go to classes

4\. Lunch on the go (usually just a sandwich from the coffee shop display case)

5\. Study some more

6\. Classes

7\. Study in the library and say hi to Jane for all of .2 seconds before

8\. Study till all hours of the night

9\. Sleep

10\. Repeat.

Any other meal besides lunch consisted of coffee, espresso, snacks, and protein bars. Her personal health may have suffered, but she didn't seem to notice.

It made for a pretty boring life, seeing as she rarely saw her best friend, and even more rarely saw her new favorite five-year-old. About once a week, Jane could pull her away for an hour or so in between study sessions and sometimes, Haley Mae would pop along with them.

One Friday morning, two days from her first midterm, Maura sat in her biochemistry class when she received a text. Jane was the only person who texted her, and rarely texted her when she was in class. With that in mind, the med student jumped slightly in surprise. She opened it discreetly underneath her desk, temporarily zoning out from her droning professor.

The first message was a selfie of Haley Mae sitting on Janes's lap in Jane's office; their cheeks smushed together. The second message was a text, _Got the kid for a few hours, you have time for lunch?_

Maura couldn't stop the smile that overtook her face. Those two girls were often the much-needed highlight of her day, and this time was no different. The med student pulled out her planner and smiled when she saw her schedule.

 _I have two hours at noon, meet in the quad?_

All that came back was a thumbs up emoji accompanied with a smiling emoji.

xxx

Sitting on a bench on the middle of the quad was a purple marshmallow, Haley Mae, bundled up in a puffy jacket, scarf and hat. Next to her was her smiling mother in a grey pea coat, red scarf and mittens. Haley Mae jumped from the bench when she saw Maura coming, and ran in to the student's open arms with a squeal, "Mora!"

"Hello dear." Maura chuckled, lifting the girl in her arms, "How are you today?"

"I need a grill cheese!" the little girl said with pleading eyes, which were slightly obscured by the hat falling over her face.

Maura looked up and caught Jane's smiling eyes, "Well then, let's go get you some grilled cheese!"

Jane picked up Maura's backpack while Maura carried her daughter, and they made their way to the staff parking.

The three were soon seated in a small diner a few miles from campus. Hayley Mae munched on a grilled cheese, happily staring out the diner window, while the two adults ate their own food and conversed lightly over Maura's classes.

"So why do you have Hayley Mae today?" Maura asked curiously as she popped a chip in her mouth

Hayley looked up at the mention of her name and answered for her mother, "Nona had a ginger headache." The little girl went to reach for her drink, but Maura leaned over and grabbed it for her, holding it as Hayley sipped from the straw.

Jane chuckled as Maura looked at her skeptically, "Every third Thursday of the month, Ma and a bunch of her Italian housewife friends get together and play gin while drinking gin. Every third Friday…Ma gets her "gin"-ger headache." Jane lowered her voice with a gleam in her eye, "a hangover."

The blonde chuckled, "Ah, I see."

"She's fine by early afternoon. So I get to play 'take your daughter to work day.'" Jane ran her fingers through her daughter's hair as Hayley turned back to the windows. "So what's your plans for this beautiful, snowy Friday?"

"Actually, on our way here, my lab professor canceled my afternoon classes, so I have the rest of the day off. Besides studying, of course."

"Awesome! Speaking of school, how's that super long paper that I can't remember what it's about going?"

Maura chuckled; her eyes dancing with a flirtatious sparkle, "You mean the one that I've told you about six times?"

Jane's smile turned wider, "Yeah, that one."

The blonde shook her head lovingly, "It's fine, I'm almost finished, I think. I just need to revise it some before I figure out the conclusion."

Still looking out the window, neither adult noticed Hayley Mae sit up straighter to see better.

"Emmy." She whispered

Jane turned to her daughter, "What baby?"

"Emmy!" the girl squealed louder, pointing out the window to a woman walking towards the building

Both women turned to see a gorgeous blonde woman, dressed in a gorgeous tan pea coat and designer boots stroll towards the building.

Jane's heart dropped at the sight of the woman.

Maura's eyes trailed over the newcomer. Leggy, blonde, gorgeous, and oozing sex appeal. The woman caught sight of Jane through the window and a wicked smile crossed her plump lips.

Maura turned her head to watch Jane's expression turn from surprise, to confusion, to surprise, to pain, to confusion again, all in the span of twenty seconds.

The woman came in the side door of the diner, shaking her head to get her hair out of her face. Hayley Mae crawled over the back of the booth, with Jane jumping up to aid her so she wouldn't fall on her head and ran over to jump in the blonde's open arms.

"Hayley!" 'Emmy' chuckled, holding the girl close, "Hi kiddo!"

"Emmy!"

'Emmy' picked her up and walked over to the duo. Jane stood up to greet the other woman.

"Jane." The blonde breathed, giving Jane a dark, steamy look.

"Emily." Maura noted that Jane's voice seemed to come out forcibly calm.

Emily turned towards Maura, who was still seated, "Who's this?"

Jane turned towards her friend, her expression showing that she almost forgot Maura was sitting there. She shook herself from her stupor and cleared her throat, "Uh, this is Maura, Maura Isles. She is a friend of mine. Maura, this is Emily Porter…my ex."

Maura's stomach dropped slightly at the name. This was the woman that had broken Jane's heart. This was Jane's ex…fuck. This was the kind of woman Jane was attracted to. "Hello." Maura stood to shake her hand and received one of the limpest handshakes of her life.

"What are you doing here?" Jane asked bluntly

The tall blonde smiled, "I'm in town for an interview with Martins Global, that ad agency uptown? I stopped by the library and some kid said you were out to lunch with your daughter, so I immediately figured you were here for grilled cheese and tomato soup. Green eyes shifted to the table and the food and she smirked, "It seems I was right."

Emily let Hayley down, who in turn, climbed back into the booth to finish her sandwich. Maura joined her but kept her peripherals on the woman.

"Can we talk?" Emily whispered, taking a step closer to Jane

"I'm kinda in the middle of something here."

"I see…" Emily started, looking Maura up and down, "Please?"

Maura saw the look of distress in the profile of Jane's face and tried to help, "Jane, why don't I take Hayley Mae back to your mother's and you two can talk."

Jane turned to her friend and seemed unsure of how to proceed. They made eye contact and she could see Jane was wanting to say something, but couldn't in front of Emily, "Well…"

Maura stood and started to grab her coat, "Don't worry about it, Jane. You pointed out the house to me last week, remember? I'll find my way." The triumphant smile on Emily's face caused Maura's stomach to churn. She was getting exactly what she wanted: time alone with Jane. The med student slipped on her coat with slightly shaking hands and turned towards the child, "Come on Hayley Mae."

The little girl stuffed the last two bites of her sandwich in her mouth with a mischievous smile and giggle, causing Maura to smirk and snort, despite the awkward circumstances. Hayley Mae slipped from the booth and let her mother help her with her coat. Jane reached into Maura's pocket and took her keys, replacing them with her own, "Take the SUV." She spoke quietly to the med student, "Her car seat is a pain to try and take out and install."

Maura nodded and trusted Jane would return her car at some point. The brunette looked like she was about to open her mouth and say something more, but snapped her lips shut and just pulled Maura's coat zipper up the last inch with a sad smile.

Hayley Mae looked up at Maura with a smile and reached up to take her hand as they left the two ex-partners to talk.


	9. Storytime & an Apology

Maura weaved through the suburbs of Boston with ease. She'd not driven anything bigger than her little four door since she was a teen when she drove her father's monster of an SUV. Hayley Mae was happily sitting in her seat behind the driver, singing along to the children's CD that was playing over the stereo. The singing was a welcome distraction to Maura's internal monologue.

 _Emily Porter. God that woman is gorgeous. I can definitely see what Jane saw in her. And she's in town? Something about an interview…I bet she's here to get Jane back…now what am I supposed to do? Though…I guess I don't really have a claim on Jane. We've not reached that point in our relationship yet…_

The blonde pulled into the driveway of a modest looking two-story house. The front yard was spacious, and Maura could imagine Jane running around with her two brothers as children. "Hayley, this is your grandmother's house, correct?"

"Yas!" Hayley squealed with delight

The little girl unbuckled herself once Maura turned off the car, and waited diligently for Maura to open the door, before she started to skip up the sidewalk to the front door. Hayley reached up on her tip toes to ring the doorbell as Maura stepped up behind her with Hayley's bag over her shoulder.

A moment later, an older woman opened the door with a wide smile as dark brown eyes landed on the little girl, "Hello my beautiful girl." She greeted with a warm, loving smile.

"Hi Nona!" Hayley said, hugging her grandmother before running into the house and out of sight.

Brown eyes scanned up Maura's body before they made eye contact with hazel ones. "You must be Maura."

At Maura's slightly confused look, the woman nodded, "Janie called a few minutes ago, saying you were dropping off the kid." The woman took a few steps back and held the door open, "Well come on in, no sense standing out in the cold."

Maura stepped inside and instantly felt surrounded by warmth, and not just the temperature. The entire house felt lived in and full of love. Pictures hung on every wall, trophies sat on shelves, and the furniture looked worn and comfortable. The whole house screamed comfort and it soothed Maura's slightly anxious heart. It was quite a different scene from her own childhood home.

"I'm Angela Rizzoli, in case you didn't get that already." The older woman held out her work-worn hand with a bright smile.

"Maura, Maura Isles."

"I know that. I'll say, it's nice to finally meet the woman that has captivated the hearts of my two girls."

Maura blushed furiously, "Oh, I wouldn't say _captivated_."

Angela waved it off and led the blonde through the house and into the kitchen, "Oh pish posh. My Janie can't stop talking about you. _Oh, Maura's so smart. Oh, Maura's so talented. Oh, Maura's so kind and wonderful._ " Angela chuckled, "My Janie thinks the world of you. And goodness, Hayley Mae just adores you. She just loves when you come over to their house or go out with them."

The med student looked down at her shoes as a blush crossed her cheeks. "They have been a joy to get to know these past few months. I feel like I've known them forever."

They stepped into the kitchen as Angela nodded, "That's my Janie. When she finds someone she likes, she pulls them in close."

Maura nodded, feeling slightly deflated, thinking, _Was Jane like that with everyone?_

"But obviously, with you it's a little different. She's not ever had a best friend. Not since she was a little girl."

"What happened?"

"Lisa, cute kid. Her dad worked in the steel mill. And when he died of a heart attack, her momma didn't have a job, so they moved to New Jersey to live with some family. Janie never saw her again. It broke her little heart."

"That's awful." Maura sat on the stool at the island while Angela picked up a mixing bowl and wooden spoon that looked like she had recently abandoned.

"Janie never really connected with anyone after that."

They both stood silently a moment before Angela smiled, "That's why I'm glad she's got you now. It's good for her to get out and find a lady friend."

Maura smiled softly as Angela started to stir whatever mixture was inside the bowl.

"So, tell me. Why did you drop off Hayley? Janie didn't give a reason when she called."

Before Maura could speak, Hayley Mae came tearing into the room, dressed in something completely different than what she'd been in before. Now in a pair of shorts over bright purple leggings, a hoodie with 'BCU' across the chest and some fuzzy blue slippers, "Nona! Guess who we saw at the diner!"

"Who baby?" Angela cracked a couple of eggs into the bowl

"Emmy!"

The older woman froze, and her lips upturned into a purse, "Oh really?"

"Yeah! She wanted to talk to mama, so Miss Mora brought me home."

"That's nice. Hey, pumpkin, how about you go draw Miss Maura a picture, huh?"

Hayley Mae seemed to love the idea since she jumped up and ran from the room again.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Angela dropped the bowl and slammed her hands down flat on the counter, "That bitch!"

Maura's eyes shot up in shock.

"Sorry dear." Angela sighed, "I just hate that woman, so much."

Maura nodded, "Jane has told me a little about the ending of their relationship…"

Angela picked the bowl back up and mixed the contents a little bit more before dumping into a Bundt pan, "Emily Porter was her first girlfriend. They met when Janie had just finished her third year of school. They started out as friends, and Emily was just _all_ over her from the beginning. And when that woman wanted something, she'd stop at nothing to get it."

Maura listened quietly; watching Angela put the finishing touches on the cake before sliding it into the oven.

"Jane was content to have a female friend. But I didn't think she actually liked this woman. She brought her over a few times for game nights, or to study. And Emily was just so…sickly sweet with Janie's brothers and me. And she would hang all over Janie; sit in her lap and have her hand through Jane's arm all the time."

"Did you know Jane was…gay, at the time?" Maura seemed really nervous to ask the question

Angela chuckled, "I knew Janie was gay when she was seven and told me she kissed little Sally Walker on the playground."

"And you were okay with it?"

The older woman shrugged, "It took a while. But Janie's always been obstinate, so I knew there was no changing her. Anyways, I think she got tired of Emily pestering her for a date, that she relented and went out on one. She said the whole evening was mediocre, but Emily just situated herself in Janie's life and wouldn't let up."

"Jane said they dated for a few years?" Maura knew she should be asking Jane these questions, but every time she wanted to, she could never find the courage.

"Yeah, two years. It was on and off. Emily traveled a lot and they'd be off while she was away and on when she was in town. I think Jane kept it up because she wanted some companionship. And for some crazy reason, Jane ended up falling for her. And just as Jane was getting serious, Emily got some big offer to move to New York and work for this big advertising firm, and Janie all but begged her to stay. She even went so far as to propose, hoping that Emily would stay." Maura's eyes widened at the revelation. Angela just shook her head and sighed, "But the woman threw up this whole stink that Jane "spent too much time" with Hayley, and "didn't care about her at all". I personally think she just said that to make herself feel better about leaving. She was offered a lot of money and she wanted an easy out from the relationship."

"That's horrible!"

"My poor Janie…she never shed a tear in front of Hayley Mae, even though Hayley Mae cried every night, asking where Emmy went. I think in some ways, Janie was relieved that Emily was gone, but she could hardly bare to put her daughter through it."

Angela turned to the stove and pulled the empty pot off, "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please."

Angela nodded and proceeded to fill the pot, "I'm sorry to unload on you like this…I just get so frustrated whenever I think about it."

"Mrs. Rizzoli, please don't apologize. It makes _me_ angry just thinking about it."

Angela put the pot on to boil and turned to take in the woman for a moment. Hazel eyes were slightly darkened with genuine sadness.

Before she could remark on it, Maura's phone beeped. The blonde looked down at the device and saw a reminder she'd set earlier in the day.

Maura's shoulders sagged. She'd forgotten about school for a while and knew she would have to return.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked

"I need to head back to my apartment and do some homework."

"Do you have your things with you? You're welcome to stay a while and work here. Those brownies will be out in an hour. And my kids always said they were the perfect studying snack."

Maura smirked, "I don't want to intrude."

"Oh please. You're not intruding. Hayley Mae will be coloring for the next long while and I'm just going to be getting dinner ready. Do you like lasagna?" Angela prodded with a hopeful smile

"I do…" Maura pursed her lips. She really had a lot of work to do, but the house seemed so relaxing and calming and maybe she could actually get a decent amount of work done without having to listen to her annoying roommates.

"Come on. Janie'll be home soon and we'll have a nice dinner together. You can tell me more about yourself and I can tell you some more stories of Janie as a little girl."

Maura couldn't stop the growing smile, "Okay, I guess I can study here for a while."

"Perfect. Now you go get your things and set up in the living room. I'll get the tea and bring it out to you."

* * *

Two hours later, the front door swung open and a loud groan filled the lower level of the house, "Oh my gahd…MAH!" Jane called, "I cannot believe that woman!" The door slammed shut, and Jane kicked off her boots angrily and tore off her jacket dramatically, "She has the gall…the _GALL_ , first of all, to interrupt my lunch with Maura, who I've not seen for more than like…two minutes in three weeks." Jane's arms got stuck in the jacket since she was trying to rip it off and she ended up throwing the thing across the foyer with a grunt, "Then she has the absolute _gall_ to tell me she's back in town and wants to see if we can maybe start things up again." The brunette looked down at the pile of her coat and boots with a groan. She stopped her rant to hang her coat up properly and put her boots on the drying rack, then continued her mission into the house, "I mean, come on! How on earth could I get back together with her?! And Maura. Maura! God, I was so mad when she left. I was mad our lunch got ruined."

Jane finally stepped into the living room and froze.

Hayley Mae was sitting on the floor, noise cancelling headphones on her ears, listening to a cartoon as she colored something at the coffee table. And Maura was spread out on the couch with her books and papers surrounding her, while wearing a slightly sheepish and stunned expression. Almost like she'd been caught doing something.

"…Maura…" Jane breathed, trying to catch her breath

"Hey." Maura looked down at the books in her lap, then back up at her friend, "So, your mother invited me to stay for dinner."

"I see that." The taller woman nodded.

They shared a quiet, tense moment before Angela came waltzing into the room, acting as if she hadn't heard Jane just yell through the house. She wiped her hands on the towel hanging at her waist, "Oh, hey Janie."

"Hey _mah_." Jane all but growled

Angela let the silence get awkward a moment, looking a little smug, before adding, "I offered to let Maura study here for a bit and stay for dinner too, since you had her car."

"I see that…can I talk to you in the kitchen for a second."

She didn't wait for a response, just grabbed her mother's arm and all but dragged her into the other room.

Once the double hinged door rested in place, Jane forcefully whispered, "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"

"I figured you were busy with Emily, I didn't want to impose." Angela said with a sassy shake of her head

Jane sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.

"What's wrong with her being here?"

"Nothing! I just kinda came in the house, unloading everything and didn't know she was here to listen."

"Yeah, I heard that." The older woman smirked

"Why didn't you tell me to shut up?!" Jane's voice squeaked in her frustration

Angela placed her hands on her hips and stared her daughter down, "Because, one of these days Jane, you're gonna have to tell that woman how you feel. And I'm not gonna stop you. In the little I've talked to her today, I think she's wonderful."

Jane's cheeks turned a bright red and she pursed her lips, "Ma." She warned

"No, Janie. She's wonderful. If you don't do something soon, I just might adopt that woman."

"Ma, she's like…my age. You can't adopt her."

"I could very well try."

Jane pointed a strong finger at her mother, "Ya betta' not!"

Angela took a step towards her daughter and smirked, "Then ya betta' do something about it."

The taller woman stomped her foot with a growl, causing her mother to respond with a "pfft", and turn back to her cooking.

Jane stewed a moment in silence before turning towards the door and taking a deep breath.

The librarian walked back out to the living room to find Maura packing up her books into her bag, "Hey."

"Hey." Maura answered back, pulled together a pile of papers into a neat stack

"Can I sit?"

The blonde nodded and Jane took a seat, her knees spreading to surround her daughter who was sitting leaning against the couch. Hayley Mae unconsciously leaned back into her mother's legs as she kept on drawing some sort of landscape that coincided with the cartoon she was half-watching.

"Hey, I'm sorry about lunch…and Emily."

"It's quite alright, I understand that you two must have had some things to talk about."

Jane shook her head, "It could have waited, or just never happened." She sighed, "But, it's not that."

"What is it?"

The brunette turned so her body faced the other woman a little more, "I feel like I've barely seen you in weeks. And I know you've got midterms," she quickly explained, "I totally understand that, trust me. I just…"

Maura sat patiently as Jane tried to find her words.

"I guess, I just miss you, is all."

A fluttering in her heart caused Maura to smile, "I've missed you too."

A nervous twitch ran through Jane's belly as they smiled hesitantly at each other.

The kitchen door swung open and Angela popped her head into the room, "Janie, don't just sit there, set the table," and went back into the kitchen

Maura giggled as the Italian rolled her eyes and got up to do as her mother asked.


	10. Lasagna & an Invitation

The three women and the young child sat down at Angela Rizzoli's dining room table with eager stomachs. It was a round table, and the order went Angela, Jane, Hayley Mae, and Maura. Angela carefully placed the lasagna in the middle of the table. The dish had already been cut into squares and Jane reached forward to scoop a small square on to Hayley Mae's plate, then came her mother's. When she turned to Maura, the blonde saw a slight blush in the brunettes cheeks and couldn't help but blush in return.

"Would you like me to scoop you a piece as well?"

The blonde dutifully lifted her plate towards the casserole dish and Jane scooped a medium sized piece onto it. As Maura set the plate back down, she was able to get a good whiff of the steaming Italian dish, "Oh my…this smells delicious, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Call me Angela, please. And thank you." The older woman smiled as she passed a basket of garlic bread to her daughter, who in turn passed to Maura after taking a piece. Angela gave her daughter a pointed look.

Jane rolled her eyes playfully before receiving a swift kick to her shin in return; releasing a yelp. "Ah, god…mah, fine I'll do it."

Maura seemed to miss the joke, but soon understood when Hayley Mae reached out a hand towards her. Maura watched Jane take her daughter's other hand and her mother's hand. Maura hesitantly took Angela's hand, and then Hayley's.

The librarian winked and bowed her head.

Maura, though not a religious person, bowed hers as well in respect.

"Bless us, oh Lord," came Jane's low, gravelly voice, "and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord, Amen."

The blonde barely contained the shiver down her spine as both Jane and Angela whispered a quiet, "amen." Hayley Mae's head shot up and she sported a huge grin, "AMEN!" she squealed before picking up her fork to dig into the food.

Jane snorted at her daughter's antics and picked up her own fork, "Eat slow Hay…the food is hot." She mumbled

Maura picked up her own fork and took her first bite. The flavors burst on her tongue and before she knew it, a moan escaped her mouth.

Jane's head shot up in surprise at the noise.

The blonde's cheeks flushed a deep red, "I'm sorry." She turned to see Angela smiling at her, "I've not had something so good in such a long time." She took two, three more bites quickly. The two Rizzoli women watched the normally composed med student tear into her food almost as quickly as Hayley Mae.

"Good Lord." Angela chuckled, "You eat like you haven't in months."

Maura finally took a breath and a gulp of water.

Jane tilted her head in thought, "When was the last time you had a home cooked meal."

The blonde shrugged casually, "Probably not since I was a child," she lifted another bite to her mouth, "Mother never cooked. And then I was in private school, then Oxford." Maura popped the bite in her mouth and savored the flavors.

Both Jane and her mother exchanged looks at the honest confession and Jane could see the look of determination on her mother's face. The matriarch took a bite of her own slice, "Well, you'll just have to come over more often."

Maura looked up hopefully and smiled all the way to her ears as she chewed.

* * *

The meal continued peacefully. Hayley Mae recounted her past week for them all, including all the lessons she learned from pre-school. Jane recounted a story of finding two freshmen making out in the middle of the library and having to break them up.

When the conversation came to a lull, Angela turned towards Maura, "So, Maura, tell me a little about yourself. Jane says you're in school?"

The blonde wiped her mouth daintily and took a sip of water before speaking, "I'm a third-year med student at BCU and I did my undergrad at Oxford."

"Wow, a docta." The older woman remarked with a wink towards her daughter, "What kind of docta do you want to be?"

"I believe that I would like to be a medical examiner, but I've also been looking into general surgery."

"A medical examiner." Angela said with a hint of awe in her voice, "that's a noble profession, Maura, and not one many go for."

The blonde didn't know how to respond. Usually people were instantly disgusted when she told them.

"Janie wanted to be a cop when she was younger. No wonder you guys get along well."

Jane rolled her eyes at her mother, "I'm sure _that's_ it."

"Oh shush." Angela lightly smacked her daughter's arm. She turned back to the blonde, "so, how much more schooling do you have after graduation?"

"Well, I need one year of residency as a general physician, one year on a surgical unit and at least one year in forensics. That's if I go to be a medical examiner. As a surgeon, the surgical unit residency is quite a bit longer. Either way, it is around three years, or four, depending on if I want to do any other specialty courses."

"Have you found a place to do those yet?"

Maura nodded, "yes, I've been accepted to the residency program at Boston General. They have an amazing program."

Angela's eyes sparkled with glee, "Wonderful! So you'll be nearby for a while." She turned to her daughter, giving her a _will ya look at that_ type look.

Maura nodded, looking down at her plate with a blush, "I've grown quite fond of Boston." She said quietly

Before Jane could say something cheesy like, "well, Boston has grown quite fond of _you_ ," Hayley Mae yawned and leaned onto her mother's arm.

Jane kissed her daughter's head, "Gettin' sleepy?"

The little girl just nodded.

"Okay. Why don't you go pack up your things and we'll head home?" Jane turned towards her mother as her daughter trudged into the other room, "Ma, leave the dishes and I'll come by in the morning to do them."

The older woman nodded and started to clear the dishes to the kitchen.

Maura stood and followed Angela's lead with her own dishes. When she entered, she found the older woman rinsing off her plate.

"Angela, the food was absolutely divine."

Angela shrugged with a disarming smile, "It's really nothin' special. Just a family recipe."

"Still…it was delicious."

"Thank you dear. You should come over again, and maybe I'll cook you something else."

"I would love that, thank you."

Jane stepped into the room with a pile of her and Hayley Mae's dishes, "God…" she grumbled, "that kid ate two slices and three pieces of garlic bread."

"I told you Jane," Angela chuckled, "I told you that you'd be blessed with a child just like yourself."

The librarian rolled her eyes, "Yeah ma, I know. A voracious appetite and a wild side."

Angela picked up a wooden spoon and smacked Jane's behind.

Jane yelped and hid behind her friend, "Maura save me. Child abuse!"

Maura chuckled and stepped out from in front of her, "I think it was highly warranted. Plus, you're too big to claim child abuse."

"Hey!" Jane cried, indignantly, "You're supposed to be on my side."

Maura smirked, "Yes, normally I would be. But I would very much like to eat your mother's cooking again. So, I will stay on her side for now."

Jane smiled, "I think we can arrange that."

Angela turned from the sink and faced them, "How about over Spring Break?"

"Ma, she's probably got plans over break…" Jane tried to explain.

"No!" Maura cut in; Jane's eyes widening at the response, "I don't actually have any plans over the Spring Break. All I have planned is some homework and light reading. I thought maybe I'd stay in my parent's home across town, but I'd love to have dinner with you all again."

Jane smirked, "Deal."

Hayley Mae came bursting into the room and ran right up to her mother, looking up at her with wide eyes, "What's up babe?" Jane asked, running her fingers through her daughter's hair

Hayley Mae have Maura the side eye and then looked back up at her mother; pulling on her shirt. Jane leaned down and listened to Hayley Mae whisper in her ear. She stood straight, "I don't know babe, you'll have to ask her." She whispered back loud enough for Maura to hear.

Hayley Mae turned shyly to the other woman, "Miss Mora…"

"Yes, dear." Maura smiled

"Um…would you like to…um…come to my party?"

"You're having a party?" she asked, interested. She kneeled down to the girl's level.

Jane chuckled, "What kind of party, Hay?"

Hayley smiled shyly, "A birthday party."

"A birthday party? Oh my goodness! I would _love_ to come. When is it?"

Jane laughed, "It's next Saturday. The first Saturday of Spring Break."

"I will definitely be there."

Hayley Mae's smile widened, and she jumped forward to give Maura a tight hug.


	11. Of Parties & Sleepovers

_A/N okay, since y'all keep complaining about short chapters, here's a slightly longerish one. it was meant to be two chapters, but I did some morphing..._

* * *

Within the next two days, Maura found a handcrafted birthday card covered in blue glitter waiting in her campus mailbox. Really, the only thing on the invitation was a crayon drawing of a cake and what sorta looked like balloons. On the back was Jane's scrawled handwriting, _Saturday March 5th, 3pm_.

With a smile she could not contain, the blonde pinned the invitation on her cork board next to a couple of pictures that Hayley Mae had colored for her. Sitting down at her computer, she opened Google and typed in: What do six year-olds want for their birthday?

xxx

xxx

Midterms flew by that week. To no one's surprise, Maura Isles passed them all. That was no question. And on Friday afternoon, after her last one was finished, Jane surprised her just outside her classroom with Hayley Mae and an invitation to ice cream; which she readily accepted.

They found their way to the local ice cream shop a few miles away. It was the only one in town that remained open during the frigid winter months.

"You comin' tomorrow, Miss Mora?" the little girl asked, chocolate dripping from her cheeks.

Maura feigned confusion, and tapped her chin, "and what would tomorrow be?"

"My birthday!" Hayley Mae squeaked

The blonde kept up her rouse, much to Jane's amusement, "Oh my goodness! I can't believe I forgot! You'll be what…thirty-six tomorrow?"

The girl giggled, "No! Six!" she held up both hands, each one holding up three fingers

"Oh my god." Jane groaned, "You're getting so old. I think after this birthday, you're not allowed to grow up anymore." The librarian ran her fingers through Hayley Mae's hair

Maura chuckled around a bite of her ice cream, watching Hayley Mae look up at her mother with wide, sparkling eyes as they talked.

The blonde felt good.

Their friendship had been a little strained – or at least seemed to be on her end – since the arrival of Emily Porter. But that was last week, and she'd not heard of the woman since.

Now, it felt like they were stronger than ever.

xxx

xxx

The next morning, Maura moved about her shared home with a skip in her step. She'd found the perfect gift (at least she hoped), and she was excited to spend the day with the Rizzoli's. Even if that meant spending a good portion of the day with a bunch of other little children.

Around 10, she received a text as she was trying but failing to do some reading.

 _ **Jane:** Hayley wanted me to make sure you were coming today. ;)_

Maura smiled, _Of course I am coming. I wouldn't miss it. Are you ready for the party?_

A few moments later, a response,

 _ **Jane:** Not quite, we've got some more decorating to do. Luckily, Hayley Mae stayed awake all night in excitement, so she's sleeping in a little this morning._

 _ **Maura:** Would you like some assistance?_

 _ **Jane:** I don't want to bother your first morning of break. You should be relaxing._

 _ **Maura:** I'm actually struggling to focus on anything. I've read the same line in my textbook four times. I find that I'm rather excited for the party._

 _ **Jane** : Then get over here. Help me keep ma from putting too much glitter on everything._

Maura chuckled as she stood to collect her things.

As Maura helped Jane hang a couple of streamers, her mind couldn't stop racing. She was so excited to spend the day with her new best friend and Hayley Mae, but something kept nagging in the back of her head.

She wanted to ask what had really happened at the diner between Jane and Emily, but felt that it wasn't her place to know. She wasn't attached to Jane at all, and even if she was, it was Jane's business, not hers.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked around the room to find Angela in the kitchen baking and Hayley Mae on the couch watching a movie.

"Jane." She started

"Yah." The librarian grunted as she stretched to place a piece of tape

"I hope I'm not sticking my nose where it shouldn't be…but may I ask what happened with you and Miss Porter the other day?"

The other woman sighed heavily, "Nah, you can ask. It's not like it's a secret. She has a job interview at an ad agency here in Boston. She's seriously planning on coming back. I told her, for Hay's sake, that I wouldn't shut her out completely, but only because of how the kid feels for her. I'm not going to do that to Hayley; it's not her fault that Emily and I broke up."

Jane handed the blonde another end to a different streamer, "Hang that up, right there?"

Maura took it and placed it where directed.

Jane watched her a moment, her eyes surveying the blonde's body language.

"I told her we couldn't get back together."

Maura's head turned slightly towards the other woman, "And how did she take it?" She was glad she wasn't facing Jane directly, because she was sure her anxiety would be apparent on her face.

A chuckle rumbled up from Jane's chest, "As with anything Emily Porter encounters, she took it as a challenge."

"Meaning?" Jealousy flared in Maura's belly

"I think she thinks she can win me back."

"Jane!" Angela called from the other room

As Jane walked away, the jealousy in Maura's gut roared to life.

xxx

xxx

An hour before the party, the house was finished and Hayley Mae was changing her clothes due to a frosting accident, with the help of Maura. A knock came to the door, and Jane answered it to find none other than Emily Porter.

"Hi! I hope I'm not too early! I thought I'd stop by and help finish setting up." Before Jane could respond, her mother walked into the room and spotted who was in the doorway.

The Mother Rizzoli had always been painfully clear that she did not like Emily, and the blonde knew it, and never really cared.

But as deep blue eyes spotted the older woman, she pasted a sickly sweet smile on her face, "Hello Angela, you are looking wonderful."

Angela huffed, "It's Mrs. Rizzoli to you."

"Ma." Jane sighed as she leaned against the open door

"Ta da!" Maura announced as her and the little girl stepped into the room, "we are now frosting free!"

The little girl's giggle turned into a squeal when she saw who was standing in the doorway, "EMMY! You came!"

Emily kneeled down and gave an awkward hug to the girl, "Of course I did. I wouldn't miss your birthday…honey."

Jane rolled her eyes, you missed all the others¸ she thought.

Angela turned towards Maura and smiled brightly, "Maura, dear, thank you for coming over this morning to help set up for the party. That was very thoughtful of you."

Jane smirked down at her shoes at the look of surprise Emily suddenly had on her face. Typical Angela Rizzoli move; as subtle as a hurricane.

xxx

xxx

The house had a cloud of tension for about another 30 minutes until the guests started to arrive. Jane tried to stay near her friend, but the party quickly turned into a zoo and she was all over, trying to corral the other children while their parents gathered around the snack table.

Maura, being trained by the best of the best that was her mother, showed no physical signs of the flood of emotions currently raging in her head. Angela, ever the hawk-eyed Italian mother, could see them in every look and tense roll of her shoulders she sent Jane's way. She knew little of Maura's past except that she was brought up in a high class home. So she figured that Maura would never cause a scene or spectacle, unlike Emily, who was currently giving Hayley Mae a huge present wrapped in the gaudiest paper and bows.

The little girl tore at the paper with gusto and took a step back to look at the picture on the large box. It was a bike.

A _pink_ bike.

Looking up at her mother hesitantly, Jane smiled and coached her into an appropriate response, "Wow, a pretty bike. Look at that Hay. You should say thank you."

The little girl stepped forward and gave Emily a loose hug and a fake smile, "Thanks Emmy."

Angela's eyes cut to Maura to find her rolling her eyes dramatically; her first outward reaction to anything Emily had done all afternoon.

The matriarch chuckled to herself and walked into the kitchen to retrieve more drinks. She came back out and approached the med student with two plastic cups.

"I have one already." Maura responded when Angela held one out towards her.

Angela only winked and pushed the cup towards her again.

When Maura went to take a sip from the new cup, she smelled the alcohol and smiled in relief, "Oh bless you," she whispered, taking a sip of the red wine. She closed her eyes a moment, waiting for the calming effects to kick in.

They both turned back to the party where Emily was giving the girl another gift to match the bike: a pink helmet.

Maura squinted and muttered, "She hates pink."

The older woman nodded, "We'll exchange it."

The med student sighed, "All I got her were some coloring books, a sketch pad and some pencils."

"Don't worry." Angela chuckled, "she'll love that so much more than a bike."

"How?" the blonde sported a pathetic pout, "bikes are so much cooler than coloring books."

"Trust me, my granddaughter will love your present more than that bike. She would rather spend a day inside coloring than be outside on a bike. Your gift will make a much longer lasting impression on her."

Maura's eyes turned back to Emily, who was standing rather close to Jane now, touching her arm. As the alcohol seeped into her brain, Maura missed the obvious uncomfortable shift in Jane's demeaner as she took a rather large step away from the blonde bombshell.

Angela noticed the look of defeat in the younger woman's eyes and touched her arm, "Honey, don't you dare feel the need to compete with Emily Porter." She could barely get the name out of her mouth without growling. "If you were in a race with Emily, you would be twenty miles ahead of her and closer to the finish line."

A blush crept across Maura's features, yet she feigned obliviousness, "a race? For what?"

Angela took a small step closer, just inches from Maura and smiled knowingly, "You know exactly what for."

Blushing a little harder now, Maura lifted the cup and drained its contents as she excused herself and made her way to the kitchen.

x

* * *

x

By seven, Hayley Mae was passed out on her bed. Two hours earlier, the party had broken up and kids started to leave with their annoyed parents. They'd been sugared up all afternoon with endless cookies and punch.

Jane looked around the mess that she called her house and sighed. The entire day had been one thing after another without any reprieve.

On top of not getting much sleep, Jane was awoken by a wired Hayley Mae at 4 AM. By the time she got the girl back in bed and asleep, it was close to six and she had things to do. So she showered and got ready for the day.

Maura arrived shortly after 10:30 and they spent a good deal of the morning decorating the house before Hayley Mae woke up.

When she arrived, Hayley Mae had woken up and found a new burst of energy at her first party guest being there.

After that, her mother showed up with half a dozen Tupperware filled with all sorts of sugary goodies. After Jane got her mother settled in the small kitchen, she came back out to the living room to find that Maura had gotten Hayley Mae distracted with a movie and a pile of coloring books.

Just as her and Maura were finishing up the decorations (with a streamer throwing party mixed in there somewhere), Emily showed up and that suddenly took all of her attention.

Then the party happened, and the day disappeared, to this moment.

When everyone finally left, the house was a mess. Emily had tried her hardest to stay around and "help clean up, since I was late to decorating." She said it with a sly look to the oblivious and innocent Maura, who was dutifully filling a trash bag with mini solo cups.

Seeing it as it was – a terrible attempt to garner Jane's attention – Jane was able to get her out the door with a: "Emily, really. I'm not going to do anything until tomorrow. Hay is crashed on her bed, and I'm about to pass out myself. Please, we've got this. Thanks for the gifts."

Emily left with a frown and a sigh, and all but stomped out the door to her luxury car.

Hearing Jane's plea for peace, Maura finished her task and started to gather her things.

Jane frowned, "Where are you going?"

"Home?" the blonde shrugged, "I figured you were tired of people and wanted to go to bed."

The librarian chuckled, "Yeah, I'm tired of _people_. You're not people, Maura."

A slow smile grew on the blonde's lips as warmth filled her heart.

"I just need to sit and drink some beer and relax. Hopefully with my best friend?"

Maura dropped her things on a chair and went back to cleaning.

"Perfect." Jane clapped her hands together once and looked around, "damn this place is a mess."

Angela picked that moment to come out of the kitchen, her jacket already on her shoulder and a bag in her hands, "I'll be by in the morning if you need my help, baby."

Jane kissed her mother's cheek as she walked by.

"Hayley is passed out on top of her bed."

"Thanks momma." Jane mumbled

Angela pulled her daughter in and kissed her cheek as her arms wrapped around her lithe body, "I love you baby."

"Love you too." Jane hugged her back before heading down the hall.

Angela turned towards the blonde who was standing in the living room a little awkwardly as she tried not to make it obvious that she was watching the exchange, "Have a good night, Maura."

"Drive safe, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Sweetie, please. Angela."

Maura responded with only a shy nod as the woman left.

x

* * *

x

Maura finished the last task of taking out the trash and looked around. Her watch said that it had been about twenty minutes since Jane had gone back to her daughter's room. The blonde decided to go make sure Jane hadn't passed out too and quietly walked down the hall.

She stopped outside the little girl's room, and saw from the darkness of the hallway, that Hayley Mae was awake and underneath her covers with her mother sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Did you have a good day baby?" Jane asked, leaning over the small girl

"Yes, Momma." Hayley Mae looked sleepily up at her mother.

"Did you like all of your gifts?"

The girl nodded, but then shook her head, "I don't like the bike. It's pink."

"That's okay." Jane chuckled, "Maybe we can paint it blue, or green?"

Hayley Mae shrugged and smiled again, "I like my coloring books Mora gave me. And the pencils. And the paper. Can I color on them tomorrow? Please?"

"Of course, baby." Jane pulled the covers up to Hayley's chin, "Maybe you can draw a picture for Maura."

"They were my favorite gift."

Maura's heart melted. She'd been so unsure of what to get the girl seeing as she'd never bought a gift for a child before.

Hayley's eyes were almost closed when she mumbled, "Mor is my favorite."

Maura's stomach leapt to her throat at the sleepy admission.

Jane leaned down closer and asked, "Can I tell you a secret?"

The little girl nodded.

"She's _my_ favorite too."

Maura instantly turned back down the hallway before she could hear anything else. Her heart was beating so hard and she was afraid she'd give away her position by letting out some sort of gasp or squeak.

She walked back in to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and chugged half of it before filling it back up. When she heard Jane's footsteps, she pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the lid.

She stepped into the living room to see Jane looking around. As she shifted her weight, the beer bottle and glass in her hand clinked together, drawing Jane's attention.

At the look of relief on Jane's face, she questioned, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought you left."

"You asked me to stay." Maura said with a small smile

"I know. Just today…was a little out of your element, wasn't it? She smiled knowingly as she took the beer from Maura's hand.

"A little."

"So when I came back in and didn't see you, I thought maybe you left."

"And like I said, you asked me to stay."

They shared a shy smile before collapsing on the couch.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, decompressing after the long day.

"Hayley keeps changing what she calls you. First it was Miss Mora, then yesterday was Mora, and just now." She jabbed a thumb towards the hall, "It was Mor."

The blonde smiled softly, "She can call whatever she pleases."

Jane's head hell back against the couch and flopped over slightly to look at the other woman, "By the way, Hay is expecting you to be here for pancakes in the morning, soooo…."

"I think I can swing that." Maura chuckled

x

* * *

x

The two talked well into the night, with sporadic lulls between topics. Around ten, Maura's stomach growled loudly in the quiet room, causing Jane to let out a husky laugh, "Should I order a pizza?"

Maura looked at her watch, "Don't you want me to head out soon? You've had a long day."

"Nah. I'm still wide awake. Plus, it's been awhile since we've hung out." Jane lied easily. She was exhausted, but no ready for Maura to leave.

"If you're sure."

Jane already had her cell phone out and was dialing the phone for the local pizza joint.

xxx

xxx

An entire pizza was devoured between the two, along with two more beers for Jane and a half a bottle of wine for Maura.

As Maura leaned back against the couch, holding her full belly with closed eyes. Jane took a moment to really have a look at her friend.

It had been only two months since they'd met in the library and Jane already knew that she couldn't picture a future without Maura in it. She was so kind and gentle. And she absolutely adored Hayley Mae. The blonde, though wildly inexperienced with children, took to the girl immediately and often asked after her when it was just the two of them at the school.

Hayley Mae couldn't stop talking about her. Every morning as Jane dropped her daughter off at her mothers, Hayley Mae would ask Jane to say hi to Miss Mora at work, and to ask her over for pizza or hamburgers. She was happy that her daughter liked Maura so much. Maura would be a great role model for her.

But then something struck the brunette:

Maura was still in med school. And she was really young compared to the other students in her classes. She was projected to have her MD by twenty-four and had a very bright future in the medical field ahead of her.

Jane came with a kid and no ambition to leave Boston or her job at BCU. If Maura wanted to move away, or work in another state, she didn't know what she would do.

Before she could spiral any farther, Maura opened her eyes lazily.

 _God, she's beautiful_. Jane thought as a nervous twinge went through her belly.

Maura turned towards her and smiled sleepily, "I'm about to fall asleep."

"Yeah, me too. Long day."

"I should probably get going."

"Nah." Jane shook her head, "I don't want you driving out this late. You should stay here. You can take the bed."

Green eyes opened farther, "Oh, I couldn't do that, Jane. It's your bed."

"Then we'll share." She sighed and stood, holding her hand out to the blonde.

The blonde blushed suddenly and Jane found it endearing.

"I promise, I don't snore."

Maura chuckled, but hesitantly followed the other woman down the hall.

The bed was bigger than she expected.

"Is that a king size?"

Jane nodded. The bed took up most of the room, but there was just enough walking space on either side, "When Hay was first born," Jane started as she opened a drawer in her dresser, "I lived with Ma for two years. All I had was my dinky little twin bed. I told myself that the moment I had enough money, I would by a huge bed so we could snuggle and watch movies or whatever. When I moved in here, I saved every single extra cent I had and bought it. It drained my bank account, but it's been a huge blessing since. So, don't worry about running into me in the middle of the night, there's plenty of room. And I washed the sheets this morning, so don't worry about it being grungy."

Maura touched her arm, "Jane, I'd be fine with dirty sheets. I'm not that fussy."

The brunette turned towards her with a small pile of clothing, "Here's some pjs."

Maura took them with a smile and attempted to add a little humor into the mix, "Is this a sleepover, or is this your way of telling me you're attracted to me?"

Jane's eyebrows shot to her hairline as she laughed.

Maura's eyes snapped shut as a raging blush swam up her neck and to the tips of her ears, "Okay, maybe too much wine tonight." She turned towards the door to leave, "I'll just go sleep on the couch."

Jane laughed and pulled her back, "Just get changed and come back in her woman." She pointed the blonde to the bathroom, "We'll have a sleepover. Actually, Hayley might get jealous that we didn't invite her."

Maura stepped into the bathroom and worked on calming down her racing heart.

xxx

xxx

As they lay in bed, each on their own side, Jane listened to Maura's slow, shallow breaths. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling with an arm stretched above her head.

Her mind ran over the day from beginning to end.

It was the perfect day.

Well, it _would_ have been perfect if Emily hadn't shown up.

Hayley had begged Jane to invite her, so the day before, Jane scrounged around to find Emily's number – since she'd deleted it – and called up the blonde. Emily had quickly said yes, and Jane thought she could hear Emily's victorious smile through the phone.

God that woman knew how to press her buttons…and not the good ones.

Besides her daughter's happy squeals, the only thing keeping Jane sane through the long day was Maura. The med student had faded into the background quickly once the party started. Throughout the afternoon, Jane spotted her in different locals of the house. A few times by the snack table, helping put out fresh food. A few times she was spotted in the kitchen, taking a few calming breaths before entering the loud living room again. And even more times, Jane found her in a corner of the room, sipping on a glass of punch, standing as still as possible.

At one point, Jane had spotted her mother hand the blonde a new cup. If she knew her mother – and she did – that glass was probably filled with some sort of alcohol.

The only time Maura interacted in the party was when Hayley Mae opened her gift. Her daughter had been so excited when she saw what it was, that she jumped right into Maura's arms and wouldn't let go of her for at least a minute, squawking in her ear about how awesome it was.

Jane sighed as she thought about the other gifts littering her living room.

The bike. God. Emily really knew how to pick 'em. First of all, they were both pink. It's not Emily's fault that she didn't know Hayley Mae didn't like pink but come on. Didn't she think for a second that maybe Jane's tastes would have morphed into her daughter as well? Second of all, Hayley was not an outdoors kind of kid. And third of all, the bike was way too big for her. It'd be another year at least until she could reach the pedals. The whole thing was gaudy, unnecessary and over the top. Which were three things that described Emily Porter.

Maura shifted in the bed, turning onto her back with a quiet sigh.

Jane turned her head and took in Maura's profile that was barely visible in the moonlight.

Oh how she longed to reach over and pull Maura into her arms. How she longed to kissed Maura's head and hold her tight, whispering how much she adored her as they fell asleep.

Jane turned on her side and watched the other woman sleep a moment as she let her body relax enough to fall asleep.

But as she fell asleep, her insecurities gnawed at her.

 _She's too good for you._

 _She won't stay._

 _She'll leave like everyone else._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _A/N I mean...I had to put in a sleepover scene somewhere. and obviously, no R &I sleepover scene is complete without the line. So..._


	12. Pancakes and Park Outings

It was around seven the next morning that Jane felt herself rouse from sleep. It was a thump down the hall that had woken her. She heard the bathroom door shut and the fan turn on which meant her daughter was up in the bathroom. She let her body relax again into the bed and pulled Maura's warm body just a little bit closer. The blonde let out a soft sigh and settled against Jane's body.

It took a minute for everything to process in Jane's still half-asleep mind, but her eyes shot open. Maura.

Maura was in her arms.

In her bed.

Snuggling right up against her body.

 _Spooning_ , if you will.

This was new.

Not _unwanted_ , per say.

But new.

Her heart slowly beat to life and began to beat a little harder.

Fuck.

Her eyes closed as she felt something warm and lovely wash over. Maura felt so good against her. She fit perfectly to her body, and she was so warm.

They must've unconsciously moved towards each other in the night.

Jane wasn't really complaining, but she didn't like the idea of Maura waking up and being upset that Jane was cuddling her without her consent.

Though...Maura _had_ made the comment about being attracted to her, or the other way around. So, she knew that those thoughts had been going through Maura's head too. So maybe she wouldn't be too upset about it.

Jane took it as a good sign and let herself relax in the embrace.

Especially when Maura nestled even deeper against her.

Just as she was falling back to sleep, she felt the side of the bed dip slightly. Her head popped up, sleepy eyes opening. Hayley Mae kneeled on the side of the bed, still groggy looking, dressed in her ninja turtles pajamas and her hair sticking in all sorts of directions. Jane lifted her arm from around Maura's waist and reached out for her daughter. Hayley Mae took the gesture and crawled towards them. She wormed her way in between the two of them and under the covers. Though Jane was a little sad she no longer had Maura's warm body against her, she was content to settle with this little group into a big cuddle session.

Maura was in for a big surprise when she finally woke up.

xxx

xxx

Maura had felt the bed dip at one point and was woken just slightly when she felt a small body worm her way in between her and another body behind her. But, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she knew that she was in a safe place and didn't need to really put much concern in the feeling.

When she finally woke, she heard some whispering voices behind her. She slowly rolled over and turned to find Jane and Hayley Mae looking at a book. Jane was whisper-reading it to her daughter, who still had droopy eyes.

Something had shifted the evening before, and Maura felt oddly comfortable waking up with these two. She reached beneath the covers to Hayley's side and pinched her playfully, "I thought I felt a little body crawl in a little while ago."

Hayley squirmed away from the touch but giggled at the same time.

Jane smirked, kissing her daughter's head, "Someone wanted to snuggle this morning."

Hayley settled back in, leaning a little more towards Maura now.

"Good morning, sweet pea."

"Mornin' Mor." Hayley whispered, nuzzling her head down onto Maura's chest.

Jane tucked a strand of Hayley Mae's hair behind her ear with a soft smile, "I was just thinking that maybe I could get up and make some pancakes."

The little girl's head started nodding quickly and Jane took that as a good sign.

"Does anyone wanna help me?"

Maura and Hayley shared a look before Maura lifted the blanket up farther over the both of them, "But it's so warm." Maura whined with a big smile

Looking down at the two of them, Jane's heart clenched.

If she was just some random person, meeting Maura and Hayley Mae for the first time, she'd have guessed that Hayley Mae was Maura's child. Same dark blonde hair, same green eyes. It made her stomach clench and odd thoughts rise unbidden in her mind. Jane shook away the fantasy of a certain med student, belly swollen with child, lying in the bed reading to Hayley Mae.

Nope.

Too early to think like that.

She rolled her eyes and tried to quell the feelings in her belly, "Fine. I guess I'll do it by myself." she said with a dramatic tone.

Both Maura and the little girl giggled conspiratorially.

Jane rolled her eyes and turned towards the door, "Fine, I'll do it _all_ by myself."

She left the two gigglers and made her way to the kitchen.

As she was getting the ingredients out, her phone started to ring.

"Hey ma." she answered after looking at the caller ID.

"Hey baby. You need any help cleaning up today?"

"Nah, Maura stayed over, so she can help. We _are_ about to make pancakes if you're interested."

Silence was the only response she got.

"Ma?"

"Maura stayed over?" there was some excitement in her tone

"Ma." she warned

"Did you sleep together."

"Yeah, but."

"Oh my god!" Angela rejoiced

"No! Ma..." Jane tried to explain. She stopped and listened down the hall and didn't hear any movement. She shut the door to the kitchen and lowered her voice, "Ma. Don't start celebrating yet. All we did was sleep in the same bed."

"Did you spoon?"

"God, Ma, stop."

"Well, did ya?"

Jane growled and remained quiet for a moment before sighing, "Yes, we did."

"Hot damn!"

"Ma, really, I didn't even know about it till I woke up."

"And was she awake too?"

"No ma, she was asleep. And anyhow, Hay came in and wormed between us."

"Did she say anything?"

"Hay? No. She was still half asleep." Jane smiled, "But hey, when Maura turned around finally, Hayley snuggled right into her arms, it was so damn cute."

"Oh my god." Angela sighed wistfully

"Don't get your hopes up ma. But the fact that Maura didn't shy away, but actually pulled her closer. My god, there might be something there."

"Well thank god for you finally noticing."

"Ma."

"Okay fine. But Janie, you'd have to be blind and def to not know that that woman liked you. Probably even loves you."

"I know ma... it's just..."

"What, baby?"

The doorbell rang suddenly, and Jane looked towards it, "Ma, I gotta go, someone's at the door."

" _Sure_ there is."

"No, seriously ma. Come over for pancakes. I gotta go."

She hung up as her mother was saying something and went towards the front door.

Just as she was heading for the door, she heard someone get up and use the restroom.

She opened the door to find a chipper Emily Porter, standing on the front porch.

"Emily?"

"Good morning, Jane."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help Hayley Mae put her bike together."

"She's not awake yet." she lied straight through her teeth, "And anyways, we're going out for breakfast with my Ma in a little bit."

There was a very audible sound of a toilet flushing behind her and Emily chuckled, "If she's asleep, who's in the bathroom?"

Jane was getting too frustrated to filter her words and sighed, "Probably Maura. She stayed over."

Emily's face contorted into a grimace, "Maura? Why would she stay over? I thought you said you were going straight to bed once everyone left?"

Jane shook her head, "Emily, I don't really have time for this, okay? I've just gotten up, I need to get the kid around, and honestly, you don't really need to know anything about my personal life. Thank you for the gifts, Hayley loved them, but I'd like for you to leave now."

"Excuse me?"

Maura had just stepped out into the hallway to join Jane in making breakfast, when she heard the raised voices at the front door. She quietly moved down the hallway and remained out of sight around the corner as she listened.

"I don't need to know anything about your personal life?!"

"No, Emily. We're not together. We're not even close to being together. We will never be together ever again!"

"And why the hell not?! I came _back_ for you."

At this, Jane was done. "Okay. First of all, bitch, you did not come back for me. You came back because you got a job offer. Don't even try to tell me that you're here for me. Second of all, you fucking left me. You broke my heart and ripped it out and stomped on it. You left with barely a word to Hayley or I. And she asked after you for months, months, Emily. And I told her you had moved for a new job, because I couldn't bear to tell her that you left us. I can't do it again, and I won't do it again."

Emily's face turned a little sour as she let the words sink in.

But Jane's anger was starting to grow, and she didn't want to stop, "I am so over your petty games to win me over. It's not happening. You are selfish and snotty and underhanded. I don't want my daughter to grow up around someone so toxic as you." she shook her head, "I cannot believe that I proposed to you. I can't even imagine what we would've been like ten years down the road. But you know what? I can imagine what Maura…" she stopped herself short. Emily didn't need to know about her fantasies and dreams. She took a deep breath, "I've moved on, Emily. And I'm happy. I'm happy with Maura, even if we're not actually together. And there is no chance you and I are getting together again."

Emily went to open her mouth again, but Jane held up a finger to stop her.

"No. No more, Emily. You're done. I have a life here now, without you. I have a family and a home that you shucked off when you got a bigger paycheck. You can't just come waltzing back in when you feel like it, because I've moved on."

"I know her and I aren't together." Jane started again, her voice a little quieter now, "and I'm fucking scared that she's gonna say no when I finally get the balls to ask her out, but _god_ …I feel happy for the first time in a long time, and I'm sorry, but it's not with you."

Emily took a shallow, stunted breath, "I see."

"Listen. If you really want to see Hayley, and help her with the bike, then okay. But that's all it can be. But don't you dare dangle a relationship in front of my daughter with no plans to actually follow through. She's six, for Christ's sake. She won't understand your games."

Emily nodded, finally looking defeated. The blonde took a deep breath and blew it out, "Okay. I get it, Jane. I'll…" she looked into brown eyes once more and saw the note of finality, "see you around, I guess."

"I'm sure she'd love for you to help her put the bike together…she really…" Jane struggled to get the words out, "misses you, Emily."

Emily laughed sadly, "She hated the bike, Jane. Everyone could see it, even me. I just wanted to impress you."

"Why? You never wanted to impress me before."

"Because I didn't have to fight for you before. I didn't have some smart-as-fuck, gorgeous ass blonde to compete with." She looked out into the snowy yard a moment to gather her thoughts, "I guess I see now that there's really no competition anymore."

"There really isn't." Jane chuckled

Emily nodded and started to walk backwards away from the house, "I'll just leave. Tell Hayley Mae happy birthday again, okay? And I'll…" she paused a moment, "I'll call her sometime to hang out, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye Jane."

In lieu of a response, Jane only nodded and watched the other woman get in her car and drive away.

xxx

 _Finally_.

She was free of Emily Porter once again.

And the morning was all the sweeter.

She shut the door quietly and leaned against it for a few minutes to catch herself.

"Momma!" came a squeal from the hall. She turned to see Maura standing at the end of the hall, staring with a shocked expression. Her stomach dropped as her daughter came running into view.

"Momma, pancakes?"

Jane shifted her eyes to her daughter a moment and threw on a smile, "Yeah, they're not done yet. How about you go find a few movies for us to watch this afternoon, huh?"

"In bed?" the girl asked with glee

"Yeah, why not?"

Hayley Mae sprinted back down the hall and out of earshot.

xxx

xxx

As the two stood in the silent house, their eyes could not part from each other's.

"Did you mean all that?"

Jane stood silently, trying to find her voice.

"That you're happy with me?"

Jane finally broke eye contact and looked down at her hands that were playing with the hem of her sweater.

Silence took over the house once again, with the exception of a certain six-year-old digging through piles of DVD's in the back room.

"You shouldn't be scared." Came Maura's quiet voice. It caused Jane to lift her eyes in question.

Maura explained, "To ask me out…if you're really that scared, I could just tell you what I'd say right now…save you the anxiety." A hint of a smirk played on pink lips.

"Yah?" Jane felt her stomach clench in anticipation

"I'd say yes, Jane. You know, if you were to actually ask me out." Her voice wavered a little

Jane took a hesitant step towards her.

"Jane…" she started, "Um…you should know though." Her voice started to shake as the taller woman approached her slowly, "I'm not that good at recognizing feelings, and even worse at speaking them aloud. However…I do feel similar feelings towards you. Feelings that I would like to explore in depth with you."

Jane chuckled, "I like the way your words get really professional when you're in a tense situation."

Maura pulled back and looked up at the other woman skeptically.

Jane only smiled wider, "Can I…hug you?"

The blonde blushed but pulled the other woman in for a tight hug.

It was warm.

It was lovely.

It was perfect.

Maura's eyes opened slowly and landed on the large box in the corner and sighed, "That bike is too pink."

A chuckle came from the taller woman as Jane pulled away.

* * *

 _A/N Apparently...I am not adept at remembering to post on both platforms._

 _Sorry._


	13. Pancakes & Park Outings cont

_Please read this note first! I made a few changes in chapter 3 to fit some new ideas I had that made more sense to the story. Nothing crazy or detrimental to the story line. Doesn't actually change the story line at all._

 _1\. Just a minor change in Frankie's line of work. I realized that Frankie is younger than Jane and Jane is 23. So, there's a good chance he's not old enough to even be out of the academy yet. He's now in college._  
 _2\. Also, I changed the fact that Hayley Mae is in preschool and bumped her up to kindergarten. It'll be addressed in a coming chapter._  
 _3\. I don't actually know how med school and residency works. My knowledge comes from TV shows and light googling. So, don't be all like… girl, that's not how it works. Okay. I am the farthest thing from a medical professional that there is._  
 _4\. That should be it._  
 _With that said, I've pumped out a lot of content for this story the past few days, and I think I have an actual structure to it now. There's some good stuff coming!_

* * *

It wasn't too much later that Angela let herself into her daughter's house, bearing a few cartons of fresh berries she'd picked up on her way over. She handed them to the blonde with a smile, "I know you like healthier foods, so I picked these up on my way over. You can put them on top of your pancakes."

"Thank you, Angela. I love berries."

Jane pulled the first batch of pancakes off the griddle and called to them all, "Ready!"

Hayley Mae came bounding into the kitchen, still clad in pajamas, and clambered up onto a stool at the island. Maura tucked a tea towel into the girl's shirt and Jane put a plate of two pancakes in front of her.

"Syrup?" Maura asked, handing the bottle over

"Let me do it!" Hayley Mae squealed with glee

Surprisingly, the girl only squeezed a small glob onto the very middle of her pile.

Maura sat down next to her, along with Angela and they were all soon munching away happily.

Jane watched her daughter snarf down pancake after pancake and just knew that she'd never get her daughter down for the nap she had been planning on.

"Maybe we should go to the park this afternoon…"

Hayley Mae whipped her head around to her mother, syrup dripping to her chin, "YAS! Park!"

The matriarch snorted at her granddaughter and turned to Maura. The blonde was daintily dragging a small piece of her pancake in the syrup with dreamy eyes. Angela turned to her daughter, who was giving her a 'not now' kind of look. She rolled her eyes but relented.

"Mor…you come to the park with us?" Hayley Mae had stuffed another piece of pancake in her mouth and was speaking around it.

The blonde smiled, "I would love to. Although, I do need to run home and change first; perhaps take a shower as well."

Jane nodded, "I can text you the address of the park; you could meet us there."

"Perfect."

Angela butted in, "So, Maura, do you have any plans for break?"

"Besides some reading and possibly getting ahead in my work, I do not."

"Well, Janie is off work for the week, maybe you two should hang out."

Jane snorted, "Thanks ma, I can make my own playdates." A blush played on her cheeks as she said the word 'dates'.

Hayley looked up from her pancakes, "Mor, are you out of school like Momma?"

"I am."

Little brown eyes widened dramatically, "Let's have a sleepover! Like last night!"

The blonde looked up at Jane questioningly. Jane laughed at her daughter's excitement and shrugged with a half-smile that Maura found to be highly attractive, "Yeah, why not? Maybe pack a bag and stay for a few days. We're just gonna lounge around in our pajamas all week, have dinner at Ma's, maybe go see a couple of movies."

"I would love to spend a few days here." Her smile was bright and conveyed the warm, wonderful feelings growing in her stomach. Even if she had had plans for the week, they'd have been canceled immediately in favor of spending more time with Jane and Hayley Mae.

"Yay!" the six-year-old screamed, "We can build a fort! Momma can we build a fort?"

Jane grimaced at the squealing, "Hey, Black Canary, tone down the super-sonic. We can build a fort, but we will use inside voices, right?"

"Yes!" the little girl rolled her eyes just like her mother but let out a giggle at the end.

* * *

As they entered the park a few hours later, Jane and Angela hung back a little as Hayley Mae dragged Maura towards the swings. She climbed up into the swing and the med student pushed her gently, and not too high.

"Emily came by this morning." Jane sighed, sipping at her hot coffee. The snow had been melting the last few days, but the wind that morning was keeping the temperature below freezing.

Angela rolled her eyes, "And what did she want?"

"It was a sore attempt at getting me again. She made the excuse that she wanted to help Hay put her bike together. But I shut her down."

"Good for you. What did you say?"

The librarian blushed as she thought over her earlier encounter, "Just that I was tired of her games and I could see through it all."

"Good."

They sat on a nearby bench, their eyes focused on Maura and Hayley playing.

"I also might have basically told her I was in love with Maura."

Angela's head whipped around; a look of hope in her eyes, "What?"

Jane shrugged, "It just came out…I didn't mean for it to. But I told her that I could see a future with Maura and not with her. It just felt so… _freeing._ To say it out loud, you know?"

"Well, good for you baby." Angela patted her daughter's leg, "I'm happy you're accepting this."

"Yeah. And Maura heard me say it all."

"Oh good." Angela smiled, not really hearing what Jane said. After a moment, the words sunk in and her eyes widened comically, "What?!"

Jane smirked.

"What did Maura say?"

"She was very Maura about it. She basically said she reciprocated the feelings and that she was interested in exploring said feelings with me."

Angela clapped her gloved hands together with a squeal.

"Ma!" Jane groaned, "Please don't make a big deal about this."

Before Angela's pout could set in, Jane interrupted, "No! Don't get all pouty. I just want to take things slow and let things happen naturally, okay? I don't want to rush it."

"Oh Janie, sometimes you're just…"

"A stick in the mud, I know ma." Jane cut her off, "And yeah. This time, I'll admit it. I am being a stick in the mud. But I want this to work, and it won't if you meddle too much. She's skittish, and I've already had to deal with her running. Please don't add on top of that."

Angela sat back in her seat, slightly disappointed.

Jane took her mother's hand, "I will tell you every single detail about everything ever if you can just not stick your nose in it and let me do this my way."

The older woman's eyes softened a moment before her finger raised to point at her daughter with authority, "You betta not mess this up. She's perfect."

"I know ma."

"She's perfect for you and for my granddaughter."

"I know." Jane smiled, her eyes landing on Maura across the park. Maura was chasing her daughter around the jungle gym, each wearing big smiles, "I'm going to try really hard not to mess it up. I promise."

* * *

As the sun started to set in the early afternoon, the foursome made their way to the little coffee shop across from the park. Angela had promised them all hot chocolate. When they stepped inside, Angela took their orders and offered to wait in line while they found a table.

"So." Maura started as she helped Hayley Mae from her jacket, "What can I expect from a Rizzoli Spring Break?"

Jane smiled, "Well, lots of sleeping in, for sure. A lot of cartoons and movies. Maybe we can build a fort and make a little movie nest one day."

"Movie nest?" She never heard of such a thing

"Yeah, you take all the pillows and cushions from the house and build a little pillow nest to lie in while you watch movies."

"That sounds like it could be fun."

"Have you never made a pillow fort before?"

The blonde shrugged, "Not that I remember."

"No sleepovers in the Isles' Household?" Jane joked

"No. Friends were few and far between, especially since we travelled so much when I was young. And after that, I was in a competitive boarding school. There was not much room for friends there."

Jane smiled softly, "Well, we'll definitely make a fort over break then."

At Maura's bright smile, Angela finally rejoined them with a carrier of drinks. Hayley Mae eagerly took her drink and sat cross-legged in her chair. Jane had pulled out a few coloring sheets and a box of crayons and the girl was already almost done with one page.

"So Maura." Angela started, "I know you guys talked about this week, but if you're not busy, I'd love to have you over for dinner again."

Maura perked up at that, "I would love to! My only plans are to hang out with them."

Jane turned to her mother, "Wednesday maybe? Then maybe Friday if you're up for it."

"That's good with me." Angela shrugged.

Jane turned back to the med student and they both smiled warmly at each other; missing the knowing smile Angela was giving them both.

If they weren't married or even living together by the end of the year, she'd have something to say about that.

* * *

It was a couple hours later, long after Hayley Mae had gone to bed, that Jane started to really think about what she was getting herself into.

A sleepover meant at least a full day, if not two of hanging out with Maura constantly. And with all the things they had talked about doing, it sounded like it would be more than one night. Part of her was ecstatic about the possibility of waking up with Maura again, wrapped in her arms, or vice versa.

But the other part of her was terrified that Maura would wake up and realize that Jane didn't have much to offer. She was young, had a 6 year old, and a job that would keep her in one place for a long time. Maura was young and just finishing med school and had the means to travel the world and _had_ traveled the world.

Jane was just a girl who got pregnant in high school and lucked out with getting scholarships and a decent job.

Then something else hit her.

She'd be spending at least one or two nights in the same bed as Maura.

Holy…

Maybe Maura wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed.

Maybe Maura would want to sleep by herself.

Jane would have to either sleep on the couch or with her daughter. She had slept with Hayley Mae in the small bed before. It wouldn't be _horrible_ but sleeping with Maura was a much better idea.

Before she could spiral any further, she got her phone, dialed Maura's number and held it to her face with her shoulder as she picked up their dirty dishes from dinner.

When Maura answered with a cheery _hello!_ , Jane chickened out and came up with something else to talk about, "So I realized that I never asked what _you_ wanted to do over break."

"I'm perfectly content with doing everything on your list, Jane." Maura pulled her second load of laundry from the dryer and dumped it into the basket.

"I know…but, if Hayley Mae has her way, we'll stay home the whole week. So, seriously, come up with some ideas."

"Well, there _is_ an exhibit at the Museum of Science that I think Hayley might like."

"Perfect." Jane smiled, "What else?"

"We could go to the Public Garden and spend an afternoon."

"Awesome. Anything else?"

"Off the top of my head, no. I'll get back to you with more ideas." Maura dropped her laundry basket on her bed and threw her phone down on the bed after hitting the speakerphone function.

"Ok, so…"

"Yes, Jane?"

"So, I had another reason for calling tonight, actually."

"Okay…?"

"Well, here's the thing. I know the last time was last minute and I didn't give you much of an option, but I feel like you're going to be staying for a little bit longer this time, so I want you to have more of a choice and I don't want to pressure you, and I'll totally come up with another option if you hate it."

"Jane." The blonde cut off her friend, "Just ask."

"Are you into the idea of sharing a bed with me?"

Her stomach clenched. She hadn't considered that. Though, waking up to Jane's warm body against her back that morning had been quite nice.

"Maur? If you're totally against the idea, I can bunk with Hay…"

"No!" Maura cut her off, "Um, no." The blonde's heart was racing, "No, I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We can share. It was…quite nice, this morning."

Jane blushed. She tried with all her might to remember what it felt like to have Maura's warm body in her arms. "Yeah. It was."

"Do you think Hayley will be sleeping with us each night."

 _Each night_ , Jane thought, _she's thinking multiple nights too_. "Yeah, at least once. But, um…if you want. I can kick her out one night so its uh…" Jane kicked herself, she never felt so much like a teenager as she did at that moment, "You know…just us."

"I would like that." Maura softly responded.

Jane imagined she could hear a smile in Maura's voice. "Me too."

They sat there quietly for a few seconds.

Maura's mind started to race about what she would need to pack for the week while Jane's mind took a dirtier turn and thought about what Maura wore as pajamas…

"Well." Jane shook the thoughts from her head, "Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"What time do you want to come over?"

"Whenever I am welcome."

Jane smirked, "Maur, you're always welcome. Hell, you can come over right now if you wanted to."

Maura chuckled, "How about I bring breakfast in the morning? From that diner down the street from your house?"

"That sounds perfect. Then we can talk about what we want to do."

Maura's heart leapt into her throat and she tried her best to not sound as breathless as she felt, "I can't wait to get to know you better, Jane."

Jane's whole body filled with adoration at this woman, "Me too."

"Good night Jane."

"Good night, Maur."

* * *

 _Hey, sorry for the delay. I didn't want to post this chapter for awhile because I didn't know how to re-upload a previous chapter that I revised. But here it is friends._

Hey come follow me on tumblr if you want... chef-of-the-frontier


	14. Spring Break & Lazy Days

_A/N Not a long update...but I wanted post something._

* * *

Maura had stayed up late into the night packing her duffle bag and carryon bag. She wasn't sure what to bring, so she had packed quite a few things. She hadn't attended a sleepover in years, and even then, all she'd had to take was a pair of pajamas and something to wear the next day. This was new. This was multiple days, multiple outfits and so many different things that could happen. Before she could go into a full-blown panic attack, Maura shut her bag and climbed into bed.

An hour before her alarm went off, Maura woke with a smile on her face and jumped out of bed; ready to face the day and get her best spring break going. She had placed both her bags by her bedroom door, so she could leave as soon as possible.

After texting Jane to see if she was awake, Maura loaded her car and made her way first to the diner, and then to Jane's. Hayley Mae answered the door with a sleepy smile that turned wide and excited when she saw the bags of food in Maura's hands. She dragged the woman into the house, barely giving her time to say a quick hello to Jane.

"Hey, your stuff in the car?" Jane called

"Backseat!" Maura giggled as Hayley Mae helped her unpack the food

Once Jane had brought in Maura's bags, they were seated at the kitchen island, tearing into the still hot food.

"What are your plans for today?" Maura asked, sipping at her coffee.

Jane shrugged, "I thought we could just chill today. Maybe watch a movie and order take out?"

"Sounds perfect."

As planned, they watched a handful of movies and settled into the couch with blankets and take out and some leftover cake from the party. By bedtime, Hayley Mae was passed out, somehow draped over the both of their laps.

Jane had been sleepily running her hands through her daughter's hair when Maura touched her shoulder, "Jane, maybe she should get in bed."

"Yeah, good idea." Jane yawned, "I took your stuff to my room if you want to change."

"Okay."

They parted ways when Jane stepped into the smaller room with her daughter in tow and Maura continued on to the master bedroom.

It was a little different than before. The bed was made really nicely, and the floor was devoid of clothes. It looked like Jane had spent some time cleaning. Just for her.

That made her heart warm.

Her bags were on the dresser on the far side of the room. She pulled out a pair of sleep shorts and an Oxford Med School t-shirt and contemplated whether or not to change in the bedroom or step into the bathroom to change. She heard Jane's voice saying goodnight and decided to be safe and stepped into the hall bath.

When she reemerged, she saw Hayley Mae's door was shut and the master bedroom door was almost shut, but not entirely. She figured Jane was just trying to be quiet for her daughter, and Maura marched right into the bedroom to find Jane half naked and facing away from her.

Jane spun around, holding a t-shirt tight to her naked chest; eyes wide. Of their own volition and without her permission, Maura's eyes quickly darted down to Jane's long, tan legs and traveled up her body. She wore a pair of simple black underwear and with the exception of the tightly held t-shirt, she was quite naked.

Maura finally picked her jaw up off the floor and spun quickly, facing the other way, "I am so sorry." She breathed. Her heart was racing at catching Jane in a compromised position, but also…

Holy.

Fuck.

So much skin.

Such tan skin…

"No. Sorry. I should've told you I was changing. Or shut the door. I just didn't want you to think I was kicking you out for some reason if I shut the door to change. And I guess I thought you'd take longer in the bathroom."

Maura could hear fabric rustling as Jane got dressed.

"Okay, you can turn around now."

Maura took an extra second to compose her beating heart and turned to find Jane facing away from her as she pulled the covers down on the bed. She was now in a pair of boxer shorts and a black t-shirt. Even with the shorts on, Jane's legs seemed to go on forever.

Maura never knew until that moment, that she was into legs.

Or maybe it was just Jane's legs. Because of how thin she was, every muscle was defined. Her calves and thighs were toned from what looked to be an avid running regimen. Her hips were prominent through the tight t-shirt.

"Maura?" Jane's voice filtered into her head

"Uh…yes?" her eyes met Jane's playful gaze

"You coming to bed? Or are you going to stare at me all night?"

"Oh, right…" she blushed and walked towards the dresser, "I forgot my face wash." The med student pulled out her toiletries bag and hastily made her exit once again.

Once she was behind the safety of the bathroom door, Maura was able to breathe again.

God, she knew Jane was gorgeous. Anyone with eyes could see that.

But this…whatever you could call this, opened her eyes to just one more facet of Jane's beauty.

Maura shook herself from her thoughts and started her nighttime regimen.

When she finally returned to the bedroom, she found Jane sitting up in the bed with a book in her hands. She took one last calming breath before she climbed into the other side of the bed.

Jane dropped the book on the nightstand and settled down in a supine position. Maura quickly followed suit.

"Are you ready for the light off?" Jane asked quietly

"If you are."

"Sure." She reached towards the lamp and hit the switch, bathing them both in darkness.

* * *

They laid in silence awhile, both knowing the other was awake.

Jane finally spoke up, "What would you like to do tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure. What are _your_ thoughts?"

"Well, I was thinking we could sleep in a bit, maybe. Then hang around the house, maybe go out for lunch?"

"That sounds good to me. What about the rest of the week?"

"Well, we said Wednesday for dinner with Ma. So maybe we could go to one of the museums you suggested earlier in the day and end at Ma's."

Maura felt sudden excitement and turned on her side to see Jane was already facing her. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness and could almost make out Jane's smile, "There's this exhibit on geometry in art. I think Hayley Mae would enjoy it. They even have a space for the kids to do some painting."

"Oh, she'd love that." Jane smiled, thinking of her daughter.

"There's a lovely café across the street we could eat at for lunch."

"Perfect. Then maybe we could go to the park on Thursday? The weather is supposed to be nice. Hopefully it'll exhaust Hay enough that she'll take a nap and we can just relax…and maybe talk or whatever you want to do."

"I'd like that."

"Me too."

Maura tried to focus her eyes enough to see Jane's face more clearly, but it wasn't working. She sighed. "I'm very excited about this week with you."

"Me too." Jane whispered, "Can I…" she stopped herself

"What?"

"Can I…hold you?" she voice was so quiet, Maura could barely hear her, "Like…like last time." Jane rolled her eyes at feeling like an awkward teenager again.

Maura blushed but turned once again and slid into Jane's arms. It took a moment for Jane to really grab on, but soon, long arms snaked around Maura's body and pulled her close.

"Good night Jane." Maura whispered

"Mmm. Goodnight Maur."

The blonde wished she could stay up and truly enjoy the feeling of Jane's body against hers, but the warmth and comfort racing through her bones pulled at her eyes and soon she was asleep.

Jane fell asleep soon after, a smile gracing her lips.

xxx

xxx

xxx

Tuesday started lazily for the Rizzoli household and their guest. Maura had awoken at some point to use the restroom and when she came back, Jane sleepily pulled her back into her embrace.

Maura didn't have enough time to enjoy the silence before the door opened with a creak and Hayley Mae was climbing onto the bed.

"Hi." Maura groggily whispered

"Mmm." Hayley Mae grunted

Instead of squirming in between the two adults, the girl settled in front of Maura, climbing under the covers. She lifted Maura's arm and crawled right against her chest, resting her head against her collar bones.

Maura had become stiff when the girl had started to get closer, but she soon melted. Hayley Mae was soon asleep again.

A little while later, Jane woke to see Maura was still in her arms, but there was another body in the bed as well.

She sat up on her elbow and looked over to see Maura's eyes were open just enough to be looking down at the girl in her arms and was gently stroking her hair.

"What's this? A stowaway?"

Maura smiled softly, "She came in a little bit ago."

Jane laid back down and scooted even closer to Maura's body and sighed.

Before she could get too comfortable, Hayley Mae's head lifted, "Momma?"

"Yeah, sweet pea?"

"I want French toast."

Maura chuckled and turned her head towards Jane. "Me too."

Jane rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain her smile, "Fine. But you guys need to come keep me company this time."

* * *

Breakfast was served not too long later. French toast with fruit, yogurt and eggs. Hayley Mae snarfed hers down quickly and was off her stool in a flash.

"Brush your teeth!" Jane called after her

When there was no response, she stood and followed after her daughter with a huff. Maura smiled to herself and started to clear away their plates. But the time all the dishes were rinsed and all that was left were their coffee cups, Jane was back.

"Teeth are brushed, face is washed and she's busy with a picture book. We have…like fifteen minutes before she gets bored."

"Just enough time to finish coffee."

Jane sat as Maura poured a little more coffee in both of their mugs.

They sat in the quiet of the morning, sipping their coffee. They occasionally caught each other's eyes and would blush momentarily before looking away again.

Jane looked at her watch. "It's past ten. By the time we get ready, it'll be around noon. So, would you want to just hang around for the day, watch movies?"

"That sounds amazing, actually. Maybe we could go out for lunch?"

"Yeah. Do you like cold cuts? There's this amazing deli that Hay and I love."

"Yes. That sounds good."

"Perfect. I'm going to hop in the shower, then you can get in and I'll get the monster dressed?"

The blonde nodded as Jane chugged the last little bit of her coffee.

* * *

As decided, once showers were over and they were dressed, they were out the door for a quick bite to eat. By early afternoon, they were back and planted on the couch. During the first movie, Hayley had started working on the movie nest. She dragged each and every pillow from the house and bedrooms, along with all the blankets and then the cushions from the couch.

By the time Jane called for pizza for dinner, they were all lying in the nest as the fourth movie of the day started.

For dessert, they ate the last of the birthday cake.

By bedtime, Hayley Mae was snuggled atop Maura, underneath a warm blanket, and even Maura was fighting sleep.

"Maur." Jane chuckled softly, "Wake up sweetie."

The blonde's eyes opened and looked around confused. She saw the girl on her chest, "Wow, is it bedtime already?"

"Yeah. You want help?" she motioned towards her daughter.

Maura nodded and soon Jane was carefully scooping Hayley Mae into her arms.

"We hardly did a thing all day, and yet I'm exhausted."

Jane shrugged, "Sometimes you just need to let your body rest and take in as much sleep as you can. When was the last time you took an actual vacation?"

"Oh, well…" she had to think about that one. She'd gone straight from high school to early college classes to med school. She'd barely had more than an afternoon off in years. Until she met these two.

"If you have to think about it, it's been too long." Jane mused as they walked towards the girl's room.

Before they reached her room, Hayley Mae perked up a little, "No, with you and Mor."

Jane sighed, "You sure you don't want to sleep in your own bed?" Jane cooed, trying to save her and Maura from a night of elbows and knees to the bladder.

"You and Mor."

"Okay." Jane sighed again and rerouted to her room. She laid down her daughter in the middle of the bed while Maura got into her pajamas.

Soon, the three were all snuggled up together, Hayley Mae in the middle.

Maura looked over the girl's head to Jane, who was watching her silently.

"Thank you for inviting me over. I'm really enjoying myself."

Jane smirked, "Tell me how you feel in the morning when you've spent the night with an elbow in your eye."

She knew she was joking, but Maura looked hard into Jane's eyes, trying to convey her feelings.

"I'm serious, Jane. You…you two have come to mean a great deal to me…"

Jane's heart sped up just a smidge at the confession, "And you to us." She whispered back. She outstretched her arm and touched Maura's cheek gently.

Maura's eyes closed and reveled in the warmth of her hand.

For the first time in her life, Maura's view of her future was morphing into something a little less clinical and safe, and into something warm, joyous and filled with light.


	15. Museums & House Tours

Wednesday morning came with a vengeance.

Storm clouds bathed Boston in a bleak, dreary, gray tone.

Jane woke first only to find her daughter had already climbed out from the bed. Honing in on her mom ear, Jane could hear the faint sounds of cartoons filtering in from the living room.

 _Perfect_ , Jane thought, _Distracted for at least an hour._

Cartoons had been a recent obsession for Hayley Mae and were helpful in the mornings when Jane needed a little extra sleep, or in the evenings when she needed to get some cleaning done without a small body underfoot.

But this particular morning, cartoons gave Jane a little longer to bask in the warmth of the arm draped low across her waist and the solid body molded to her back.

This was different than the last two times they had slept in the same bed. Normally, Jane was the one to spoon her bedmate. At least when it came to Emily. Yet, Jane was feeling pretty content being the little spoon to Maura. She slowly turned her body in Maura's arm and shuffled down a little to be face to face with the blonde.

Green eyes opened slowly and blinked a few times before a small smile grew on Maura's lips. "Morning." She sighed

"That it is." The brunette smirked, "I can't believe I slept the whole night. Hay is usually a tosser turner."

"Maybe it's my calming presence." Maura smiled just a little wider as she snuggled into Jane's body.

"Maybe it is. I know how well _I_ sleep when you're here."

A rather un-Maura like snort came from the blonde, "Charmer." She mumbled

xxx

xxx

The two women were soon roused from the dozing state they'd fallen into by a curious six-year-old.

"Momma…" she poked Jane's shoulder

"Yah baby?" Jane turned just enough to take in her daughter's face

"What are we doin today?"

xxx

xxx

xxx

Within the next hour, all three of them had bathed, broken their fast and were out the door for the Museum of Science. When they walked in the door, Jane went to buy them tickets, but Maura said she'd take care of it. She stepped out of earshot and up to the ticket booth. After a few words, Maura was walking back with three wristbands, all yellow, and made of rubber instead of the normal paper-like bands Jane was used to.

As Maura helped hang a smaller one on Hayley Mae's jacket, Jane's eye caught the wristbands of another group.

Purple.

Her eyes scanned the lobby to another group, and they were putting on purple bands as well.

"Why are ours yellow?" she asked

Maura did her best to not make eye contact as she fiddled with Hayley Mae's collar, "Uh, well, it means we can access any exhibit."

Jane looked up at the pricing board and read each day pass one could purchase. Each pass only allowed you to access up to five of the seven special exhibits in a day. There was another pass for members, but didn't state what it entailed, "Oh, are you a member or something?"

"Something like that." Maura mumbled.

Before Jane could ask another question, especially one Maura wasn't ready to explain yet, a staff member lead them to an exhibit at the back of the museum. Since the museum had just opened for the day, most groups hadn't made their way to the back yet, giving the three an opportunity to see the prime material in a rather quiet setting.

Seeing Maura's hesitance, Jane dropped the subject for a while and let herself be immersed in the things around her.

Hayley Mae quickly became engrossed in the exhibits, and Maura prattled on excitedly about everything they stopped by. Whatever Maura had to say, Hayley Mae hung on her every word and soaked it all in; even asking questions.

Once they hit the Geometry in Art exhibit that Maura had mentioned, Hayley Mae was ecstatic. She listened carefully as the instructor taught them about geometric shapes and how they can be used in art and architecture. The two women found a bench close by and watched as Hayley Mae delved into the paints and canvas in front of her.

"Maur?" Jane couldn't wait any longer. Maura had acted weird about the wristbands and she wanted to know why.

"Yes, Jane?"

"I know it's not a big deal, but you never answered me about the wristbands. And it feels…it feels like you're hiding something. I just want you to know, that whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Jane."

"It can't be that bad, Maura. It's a museum. It's not like it's a front for the mafia that's run by your secret birth father, is it?" Jane chuckled

Maura, despite herself, laughed at the absurdity, "No. My secret birth father is not a mob boss. It's just…have you heard of the Isles Foundation?"

"No, should I have?"

Maura shook her head, "Not necessarily."

"Let me guess, your parents are super rich and donate to lots of charities and museums." Jane gestured to the room around them.

"Well, yes."

"And let me take another guess. Because of that, you've got some lifetime free pass to this museum?"

"In a sense." Maura shrugged, "I'm on the museum board, well, the _Foundation_ is on the board. Since Mother and Father are living between England and New York these days, I'm the closest representative."

"That's awesome. And thanks for the cool passes too."

Maura gave her a skeptical look, "You're not weirded out?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because, usually, when people find out about my parents and family wealth, people are intimidated and either try to become my best friend, or shy away from me."

"Well, I kinda figured we were _already_ best friends…" Jane smirked

Maura rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"And Maura, you are not your parents. Sure, it's cool that you're on the board of a kick ass museum, and that apparently your family is wealthy, but that doesn't magically change who you are."

"And you're not upset? For me not telling you?"

Jane shrugged, "Maura, there's plenty of stuff you don't know about _me_ yet. Plenty of stuff that I'm sure you'll be freaked out by. But that's kinda the point of getting to know each other and developing a relationship. You learn about each other, you share parts of your life, you learn to trust the other person, and you share things when you're comfortable sharing them. I don't expect you to tell me every single thing about yourself right this moment, or this afternoon or even tomorrow. And I hope you're not expecting me to share all my deep dark secrets right off the bat either. We've got time to get to know each other." Jane leaned over and bumped her shoulder with Maura's.

Maura smiled, suddenly at peace with Jane's little speech, "Okay."

Jane turned back to watch her daughter, feeling suddenly bold enough to put an around Maura's shoulders. Maura snuggled closer into Jane's body as they watched Hayley Mae paint again.

* * *

Maura noticed that instead of following the rest of the class follow the instructor, Hayley Mae blurred her lines and mixed her colors. The session was basically a lesson in paint by numbers, and Hayley Mae was creating something much more beautiful than the others. It caused Maura to wonder if she had taken any art classes, which then made Maura wonder where Hayley Mae went to school.

"Jane, where does your daughter go to school?"

"She's homeschooled."

Maura's head whipped around. She'd never seen schoolwork or textbooks laid out in Jane's house.

"That's why Ma takes her in the mornings."

"Your mother is teaching her?"

"Yeah. Two years ago, almost? When I was looking to enroll her in preschool, she was put through all these tests to determine where she'd go, and she came out with really high test scores. She showed a high aptitude in art, language and dexterity. On the flip side, they said she showed signs of ADD, and they recommended she be homeschooled or put in a private school where she could get hands on, one-on-one tutoring."

"Oh."

"I couldn't afford private school back then, not that I can now either, and I didn't have time to homeschool her either. But Ma jumped at the chance to help. She wanted to be more active with her own life, and be more active in Hay's life, so I let her."

"That's so amazing; that she would be willing to do something like that."

"Yeah, it's awesome. And Hay really soaks it all in. Her test scores are really good and she's moving really fast through her curriculum. Ma's actually been adding subjects to challenge her. Right before Christmas Break, she introduced Italian. Hay doesn't use it except in the lessons. I don't think she cares much for it, but Ma says she's got a pretty good handle on it."

Maura looked back to Hayley Mae again, this time with new eyes.

"I don't know how long I'll homeschool her. I might try to get her into a school in the next couple of years, but I don't know. She likes being with Ma so far. And it's all easy for Ma, cause it comes with very detailed notes and guidelines. And there's online teachers who are always on call to help.

From a more experienced eye like Maura's, Hayley's painting showed a lot of promise and creativity.

"I think she'll be a great artist someday." Maura mused.

"I do too. I don't know a lot about art, but sometimes she hands me things that are just too good for a six-year-old, you know?"

xxx

xxx

When the art session was done, the three made their way to the food court and grabbed a quick bite to eat before visiting a few more exhibits. Shortly after lunch, Hayley Mae grew tired and both Maura and Jane took turns carrying her through the last few exhibits.

Just as the clock hit three, Jane's phone buzzed with a call from her mother, asking when they were coming over. They decided to call it quits with the museum and drove across town to the Rizzoli household.

Angela absolutely fawned over her granddaughter's painting while Jane gave Maura a tour of the house. The last time she'd been over, there hadn't been a good segue to a tour.

Maura saw the den that had been turned into a classroom/art room for Hayley Mae. There was a little desk by the big windows. Next to the desk was a long table with various art supplies that were scattered atop a pile of crayon, pencil, and pen drawings. On another wall was a bookcase filled with children's books and textbooks. In one corner was a desk where she figured Angela sat during the day, watching over the beautiful mind at work.

After the den, they came into what Jane called the Family Room. It was a large room at the back of the house with a large TV, two couches and a recliner. Along the wall were dozens of pictures and trophies from over the years. Apparently, each of the Rizzoli children were gifted in sports.

They made their way up the stairs and Maura was shown Jane's old bedroom. It was filled, wall to wall with books and posters of famous cityscapes and buildings. The bed was stuffed against a wall, right up against the window.

"It looks like you never left." Maura mused

"Yeah. Ma let's Hay come up here an take a nap or do some reading if she gets tired of the den."

"Was this the room you and Hayley Mae lived in when she was born?"

Jane smiled, "Not, that's actually upstairs."

"Upstairs? I thought we _were_ upstairs."

In lieu of an answer, Jane pulled the blonde along and up another stairway behind a door. It opened into a large attic-turned-apartment. There was even a bathroom complete with a shower.

"Apparently, before I was born, ma and pop were having money troubles, so pop's idea to fix things was to turn this into an apartment and rent it out. They only had one tenant, my uncle, for like, six months. He moved out when I was born. So, when I got pregnant, Ma cleaned and moved things around and let me live up here."

The room was open and large, and the ceilings were slanted from the roof. But there was a large window on the back of the house that overlooked the yard. A few bookshelves were spread around. A crib sat in one corner and a twin bed in another.

"She wanted me close, but she wanted me to grow up a little, and be more independent, I guess."

Maura walked over to the crib, "I can't believe she was ever this small." She mused as she picked up a stray onesie that had been balled up in the corner of the crib.

"I know. I try to pick her up still, and I can't believe she used to fit in one arm."

Maura turned with a smile, "You made a pretty gorgeous baby, Jane."

"I know." The librarian smiled smugly, "She's pretty great."

They moment was interrupted by Angela calling them down for dinner.

Jane just chuckled and grabbed Maura's hand again, leading her back through the house.

* * *

When they came down, they found Hayley Mae setting the table, piece by piece, fork by fork. Jane turned to her mother with a confused smile.

Angela lifted her hands in surrender, "Don't ask me. She asked if she could."

"What's wrong?" Maura asked, not understanding

"She's never set the table on her own before." Jane laugh, "But hey, that means I don't have to anymore!"

* * *

Dinner was another Italian dish: chicken carbonara. Again, Maura was blown away by how delicious it was. When Angela asked how the museum was, the youngest in the room quickly took over the conversation with an excited enthusiasm. At one point, she got distracted by the garlic bread and Maura could finally get a word in, "Angela, if you're interested, I have a friend who runs a gallery downtown. She often tutors young artists. I'm sure I could get her to give Hayley Mae a class now and then; give you an afternoon free."

Angela spared a quick look to her daughter for confirmation before nodding, "that would be wonderful, thank you."

* * *

Later that evening, after Jane had scooped her daughter off her mother's couch, they finally made their way back to Jane's house. The little girl went right to bed without a peep and Jane and Maura made their own way to bed.

As they lay quietly, facing each other, neither was asleep, but neither had anything to talk about. Maura couldn't help but think back to all the pictures and trophies in the house.

"Jane." She whispered

"Yeah." The brunette sighed

"Would you tell me about your brothers?"

Jane moved her head to get a better look at the woman who was looking up at her, "Yeah. What do you want to now?"

"Where are they? And what do they do?"

"Well." Jane took a deep breath and though, "Frankie is twenty-one. He's a junior at UCLA and was recruited out of high school for their baseball team. He's majoring in Criminal Justice, but he's been slotted for the majors when he graduates."

"Wow."

"Yeah, he's got a killer arm, and a good eye for the field. They wanted him as a pitcher, but he loves catching. He likes having his eyes on all the action."

"And the other one?"

"Tommy." Jane's voice carried a certain tone to it.

Maura sensed there was some pain associated with her other brother, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"No, you're bound to find out sometime. He's…he's in juvie."

"Oh."

"He picked up alcoholism from our dad's side of the family. Got into some trouble. He was sixteen when he got his third DUI. He had his license revoked a week after he passed the test. He kept taking his friends' cars. When he got his third DUI, he actually hit a guy in the crosswalk. Tommy was trashed. It only took the judge, like, thirty seconds to send him off to juvie."

"I'm sorry, Jane."

"I'm not." Jane looked down at her, "I mean, I'm sorry he's messed up, but I'm glad he's in there. I so hope that he gets straightened out, you know? I love him with my whole heart, but when he got sent away, I was _so_ relieved. I knew he'd be safer behind bars."

"I can understand that…when is he to be released?"

"When he turns 18, next summer, if he's been good. He'll be on a super strict probation for like, a year. Then if he's good, it'll be less strict probation for a year, then he's clear."

"Do you think he'll make it?"

"I really hope so. He's a good kid. But alcohol ruined him."

Maura hesitated with her next question, "Jane?"

"You wanna know what happened with my dad?"

"Not if it's not a comfortable topic. I don't need to know. Actually, never mind. You've already shared so much of yourself today."

"No, it's okay." Jane took a deep breath, "Pop died right before Hay was born. He had been an alcoholic my whole life, but he kept a pretty good cover on it. He had a plumbing company, and I think the stress of having three kids really did him in. When I got pregnant…" the brunette paused, and Maura took the respite to pull the other woman closer, to give comfort as much as she could, "When I got pregnant." She started again, "he stopped drinking. I think he saw how much he was hurting himself and his future. He worked more, and he felt better, but in the end, his liver was too far gone. And with a history of alcoholism…"

"You're booted off any transplant list."

"Yeah. He went into liver failure a few weeks before she was born. He didn't last long." Jane's voice trailed off. He sighed and took another breath, "Anyhow." She sniffed, "His long-time partner bought out his share of the company, got Ma pretty well set up. Frankie isn't going to be a plumber, and I highly doubt Tommy has the mental stamina for something like that. But, Johnny kept the name, Rizzoli & Sons. He didn't feel right changing it."

They lay quietly a moment before Maura whispered, "Thank you for telling me, Jane."

She could feel Jane half-heartedly shrug, "Yeah, anytime. Anything else you want to know?"

"Maybe another time. I feel like I've pried into your life enough for one day." She paused, "Anything you want to know about me?"

Jane thought, "Well, since we're talking about family…what are your parents like?"

Maura smiled, "My father is a History professor at Oxford. He started there when I went to boarding school in fifth grade. My mother is a semi-retired artist that runs a few different galleries across Europe."

"Brothers or sisters?"

"Not that I know of."

"Right…adopted."

"Correct."

"What kind of history does your dad focus in?"

"Everything, really. He could be talking about civil wars in Africa one minute, and then be on the industrial age in China the next. His mind is a vast warehouse of knowledge."

"That's cool."

"I think you two would get along. He has quite the extensive library."

"Is this like a Beauty and the Beat thing, and when I meet him, he's going to show me this massive library?"

"What?"

"Beauty and Beast? Disney movie based off a French novel?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Oh my god." Jane scoffed. "We need to add that to our watch list this week."

"Maura chuckled, "I think I've watched more TV and movies this week, than I have my entire life."

Jane smiled sheepishly, "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I like what we watch. I just didn't have the opportunity to watch much when I was growing up, unless it was a documentary."

"Well, don't worry. Hay and I will educate you."

"Perfect." Maura chuckled, "I was worried I wouldn't find the right tutor.

Jane smirked, "Oh girl. You've got quite the educational feat ahead of you."

Maura felt warmth blossom in her chest, "I very much look forward to it."


	16. The Park & Some New Books

Maura was the first to wake Thursday morning. She turned in Jane's arms just slow enough to not wake the librarian. It was one of the few times Maura was able to just look at Jane without the woman noticing, and she took advantage of the moment.

Every part of Jane's body was elongated in some way, due to her height. Her arms, her legs, her torso, her fingers…that particular thought derailed her for a moment before she went on. Her nose, her lips, her face. Everything about Jane was absolutely beautiful. Maura wondered if Jane ever received any sort of modeling offers, for she could easily make it into _any_ modeling agency in the world.

But it wasn't just her body that Maura admired.

Even though that was a large checkmark in the pro column.

No.

Jane's heart and soul were things that Maura was coming to love deeply.

Jane gave herself wholly to her family and to her daughter in every way. Instead of taking it as a burden, Jane pulled herself up at a very young age, sought help from her family, and made a life for herself worth living.

She worked hard to support herself and to raise her daughter right.

She worked hard to give Haley Mae everything that little girl deserved.

She fought to give Hayley Mae a good life.

And Maura just knew that whatever relationship Jane was in, in the future, she'd fight for that one too.

Jane deserved everything good in the world.

And Maura just hoped that _she_ could be what Jane wanted.

Maura had a sudden thought that raised her from the bed.

On her way to the kitchen, the blonde stopped in the bathroom for a quick comb through her hair and a splash of water on her cheeks.

xxx

xxx

xxx

As she was pulling that banana bread from the oven, quiet, light footsteps echoed down the hall and she turned to be face to face with a six-year-old.

"Good morning darling." She whispered

"G'mornin Mo." Hayley Mae sighed, rubbing her tired eyes

"How are you today?"

"Hungry." She said with a hint of finality in her tired voice

Maura chuckled, "You're just in luck. Do you like bananas?"

Hayley Mae nodded succinctly.

"Do you like banana _bread_?"

Another nod.

xxx

xxx

Jane awoke to the feeling of cold sheets under the palm of her hand. As she was waking, she had reached out for the warm body she was quickly growing accustomed to feeling in the mornings and was met with cool sheets. Her eyes opened slowly to find the blankets on the other side of the bed were still ruffled and pulled back a little.

A pair of giggles pulled the supine woman from her bed and down the hall.

What she was met with in the kitchen made her heart soar.

Hayley Mae was seated on the counter and was watching Maura stir away in a big mixing bowl.

They talked quietly to each other, clearly wanting to be respectful of Jane sleeping. But little giggles erupted every now and then.

"What's all this?" Jane finally asked

Both girls looked up and smiled widely.

Hayley Mae help up the last bite of whatever was in her hand, "Banana bread momma! Mo made it!"

"Oh, she did?" Jane asked as she stepped into the room. She sidled up next to her daughter and kissed her forehead.

"I didn't know you baked?"

Maura blushed, "Oh, very little. I only know a few recipes."

The librarian pulled a piece of bread from her daughter's plate and popped it in her mouth. Her eye widened just slightly at the taste, "Oh this is good. Better than ma's."

"Oh I doubt that." Maura blushed even harder.

"No, seriously." Jane sliced off a whole piece and stuffed half of it in her mouth, "This is delicious."

"Well, thank you, Jane."

The brunette spared a glance around the kitchen and saw that there were two loaf pans on the back edge of the stove with towels over them, "What are those?"

"Just some white bread that's proofing a little from the heat of the oven. The weather is nice, so I thought we could go to the park for a bit, and maybe take some sandwiches with us for lunch? The bread will only take an hour or so, and there's this little deli by the Common that I love. We could get some fresh meats and cheeses on our way…" she suddenly felt like she overstepped; making plans without asking. "Is that okay?"

"That's perfect!" Jane chuckled, "There's a little bookstore down there that Hay loves to stop at. Maybe we could pop in and browse while we're there."

"Oh I love books!" Maura smiled

"Then maybe we could grab some groceries on our way back and make dinner here."

"That sounds great." Maura smiled. Dinner at home with Jane and Hayley Mae was literally the most perfect ending to the day she could imagine.

Oh dear.

Since when did Maura think of this as _home_?

"You okay?" Jane asked, seeing the faraway look in Maura's eyes.

"Yes." The blonde smiled, "Perfect. Just had a thought. How about you guys get ready while I finish up, then I'll shower, and we can leave?"

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

They stopped at the bookstore first, waiting for the weather to warm a bit for the park in the afternoon. When they stepped inside, Hayley Mae took off for the back corner of children's books.

"So she's been here before." Maura chuckled at the little girl's enthusiasm.

"Oh yeah. We come here once a month maybe. Sometimes Ma brings her if she's been really good and lets her pick out a few books." Jane smirked, "Between the two of us, we're going to need a bigger house in a few years for all the books."

Maura walked down one aisle with Jane perusing the aisle on the other side, "You should see my father's library at their house here."

"Oh yeah? Super big?"

"Oh yes. It is probably bigger than your house, all together, I'm afraid."

"Wow."

"You would like it, I think."

"Well, _yeah_." Jane chuckled

After an hour or so, Jane finally collected her daughter, whose arms were full of new books, "Hay, it's time to go. You can pick out one book."

Seeing the disappointed frown on the little girl's face, Maura felt a tug at her heart strings. She pulled Jane aside a moment, "Jane. Would it be alright if I purchased the books Hayley Mae wanted?"

"She already has so many, Maura…"

"Please?" the blonde pleaded

Jane rolled her eyes but relented, "Okay fine. If you must. But if you're not careful, she's gonna take you to the cleaners."

"What?"

"It means she'll take advantage and spend all your money."

Maura smiled brightly and helped the little girl carry all the books to the desk to be rung up.

"I rarely spend it on myself, Jane." She spoke quietly as she pulled the credit card from her wallet, "At least this will be a good cause." She happily swiped the card.

Maura looked down at the little girl and saw her looking up with stars in her eyes.

Jane popped her hip and bumped her child slightly, "What do we say?" she whispered with a smile

"Thank you!" Hayley Mae squealed, hugging Maura around the waist

xxx

xxx

Once the books were deposited in the SUV, the three made their way to the deli. Jane went in and ordered the meat and cheese while Maura unpacked the bread and condiments on a picnic table at the edge of the park. Hayley Mae engrossed herself in one of her new books and sat quietly.

Seeing the little girl so engrossed in the book she'd bough, Maura's heart was full.

Jane returned with a small bag and soon they were all eating. Jane took her first bite and moaned almost indecently. "Oh my god. Maur, how have I never heard of this deli before?"

The blonde's cheeks pinked as she shrugged and bit into her own sandwich.

"The meat is so tender. And the bread. Where did you get the recipe? Cause it's amazing."

Maura blushed, "It's a family recipe. Our cook used to make it. She got it from her mother who worked for my grandmother."

Jane swallowed at the information, "Oh." She forgot. Maura was rich.

The blonde saw Jane's recognition but tried to move past it. They had had the conversation about Maura's family money once, but she wasn't sure how Jane really felt about it.

"Hayley Mae." Maura started

The little girl looked up from her little pack of chips.

"What is your favorite subject in school?"

"Art!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I love drawing and painting and coloring. It's so fun!"

"Do you like any other subjects?"

The little girl thought, "Um…I like reading?"

xxx

xxx

As Jane buckled her daughter into her car seat, her phone rang. She lifted it to her ear, "Hey ma…"

 _"_ _Janie. What are you doing for dinner?"_

"We're picking up something to cook."

 _"_ _Is Maura still with you?"_

"Yeah."

 _"_ _I was wondering, would you like me to pick up Hay after dinner and keep her overnight? I could keep her tomorrow too and you can pick her up when you come to dinner."_

Jane looked up to the front seat to see Maura clicking in her seatbelt.

A day without the kid might be nice for them. They'd be able to sleep in, or cuddle or just be… _alone_.

Jane's heart sped up, "Yeah Ma. That'd be perfect."

Maura turned with a curious look.

"I'll call you later." Jane hung up, finished the buckle on Hayley Mae's car seat and slid into the driver's seat.

"Your mother?"

"Yeah." Jane smirked to herself as she backed the car from the space, "Ma's going to pick up Hay after dinner and take her for the night." She flipped gears and started forward, home, "and most of tomorrow. She thought we could use the day off." The brunette looked at her daughter in the rear-view mirror, "You wanna stay over at nonna's tonight?"

"Yah!" Hayley Mae squealed

Jane turned to the other woman with a cautious smile, "You okay with that?"

Maura tamped down the blush that she could feel coloring her cheeks, "An evening and a day alone with you? I think I could be agreeable to that."

xxx

xxx

When they arrived back at the house, Jane tried to put her daughter down for a nap, but the little girl wouldn't have it. Maura could hear from the living room, that Jane was trying her hardest to get the girl to just nap for a while. Hayley Mae had been drooping her head the whole way, and Jane had been ecstatic at the possibility of being able to have a good hour of quiet after their long morning and afternoon.

"Hay, you need a nap."

"No momma! I wanna stay up and look at my b _oo_ ooks!"

"You can do that afterwards." Jane spoke in hushed tones to soothe her child

"But I want to do it now."

"Hay. It's nap time." Her voice had a little more of a bite to it

"No!" The girl squawked

"Excuse you, young lady. You do not yell at me."

"I wanna stay up!"

"Hayley Mae Rizzoli, you need a nap and an attitude adjustment."

Maura's phone vibrated, breaking her from the drama in the other room. She looked at her phone to see a message from her mother, _"If you have a chance, please call me."_

The blonde stood from her seat and stepped out the front door, shutting it softly behind her.

"Hello mother." The student spoke quietly into her phone

 _"_ _Maura, darling. How are you?"_

"I am fine."

 _"_ _I hope you aren't studying too hard on your spring break, now."_

"Actually, mother, I'm staying with a friend for a few days. Her and her daughter are also on spring break."

 _"_ _Is this the friend you told me about a few weeks ago? The librarian?"_

"Yes, it is." When Maura had called her mother to tell her she was gay, she hadn't been able to come right out and say it at first, so she had waffled around the subject.

* * *

 _Oh, I have made a new friend, mother. Her name is Jane. She works at the school and she has the most adorable daughter._

* * *

"She invited me over for a few days."

 _"_ _In regards to our last phone call, darling, the mother I am can't help but ask if this friend Jane is a_ _friend_ _or just a friend."_

Maura blushed hard and could hear the stuttered words come from her mouth, "Well, you see, I, um."

 _"_ _Maura, you can tell me."_

"Well…she might be."

 _"_ _Might be?"_

Maura lowered her voice, scared that Jane might hear, "I…I _hope_ so…We've talked a bit about it. And it seems as though she's open to a relationship."

"Good. You need someone in your life that can take care of you, Maura. Everyone deserves someone, even you. I know you like to focus on your studies, and that is very important. But I want you to know that relationships, especially romantic ones, make life so much more worthwhile."

Maura smiled softly to herself. It wasn't often that her mother dispensed life advice like this, so this was a moment to treasure.

"I know you like to draw into yourself and focus on your studies, but you _are_ allowed to take a little time and enjoy yourself."

"I know mother." Maura said

"Good. Now. If this _friendship_ progresses, let me know. Your father and I would love to meet whoever it is that you are going with, if you feel comfortable with that."

Maura's smile widened, "Oh mother, she is the absolute best. You would love her, and so would father. She is so smart and caring and funny. And her daughter is just amazingly smart." She gushed

"Tell me about her daughter."

"Hayley Mae is six now; her birthday was just this last weekend. Jane's mother, Angela, homeschools her. She looks just like Jane, but with blonde hair, filled with ringlets. And oh, mother, she is such a good artist. We took her to the children's museum and she sat in on an installation of geometry in art and she created the most beautiful painting. I think she has a lot of raw talent that could be nurtured into something amazing."

 _"_ _Does she take well to you?"_

"I think so. I bought her some books she was asking for this morning, and she was so excited. She is actually arguing with her mother about a nap at the moment. She just wants to stay up and read them.

 _"_ _Sounds a lot like my own daughter…"_ Constance chuckled.

"I just." Maura paused, hesitant to speak her heart, "I just…feel so at home here, staying with them."

 _"_ _Isn't that a good thing, Maura?"_

"It is. I am just hesitant to voice my feelings with her. I am feeling these… _deep_ feelings of attachment and commitment towards her _and_ Hayley Mae, and I don't even really know if she feels the same. We've glanced over the topic – that we like each other – but haven't talked much past that." She also wasn't going to tell her mother that she was already sleeping over in the same bed.

 _"_ _Then I do believe it is time for you two to have the talk."_

"Well, Hayley Mae _is_ going to stay with her grandmother tonight. I suppose I could try to broach the subject…"

 _"_ _Good. I expect to hear your results soon. Listen, my darling, it was good to speak to you. But I'm receiving a few hurried texts from George. Something is going on down at the gallery. Let me know how things go. I love you, darling."_

"I love you too, mother."

The call ended with a click on Constance's end and Maura pulled the phone from her ear.

Her mother was always right to the point, no matter the circumstance and Maura knew that she'd be receiving another call in a few days, wanting to know the result of her talk.

She stepped back into the house to find Hayley Mae sitting on the end of the couch with a book in her lap. Her little face was screwed up in a pout as she read quietly.

Jane walked into the room with a bottle of water in her hand. When she spotted Maura, she sighed, "We're not taking a nap today. And thus, we are not having the dessert we picked up at the grocery store."

The blonde nodded. Hayley Mae must have put up a fight, and these were the consequences.

"No dessert and no TV at Nonna's. Not until we have a better attitude." Jane suddenly remembered that Maura had been outside. She jutted her chin slightly in Maura's direction; her eyes glancing down at the phone in the blonde's hands. "Everything ok?"

"Oh yes. My mother asked me to call her. She just wanted to know how my break was faring."

"And?" Jane smirked as she chugged down half of the water bottle

"I told her it was going well."

"Good." The brunette nodded, "Now. How about I get started on dinner. Ma is coming by around 6 to eat with us."

"May I help?"

xxx

The two soon found themselves caught up in the makings of dinner. Jane flipped on the grill in the back yard and worked on seasoning steaks while Maura tried her hand at another bread recipe she remembered. They worked quietly with each other, somehow already used to moving around each other in the kitchen work space.

Unknowingly to the both of them, but visible to anyone watching, even though the kitchen had more than enough room to move around in without touching each other, the two kept finding themselves bumping into each other and finding other small ways to come into contact.

Reaching around Jane for a whisk.

Needing to get into the drawer Maura was standing in front of only to not find what she was "looking" for.

Brushing behind Jane to grab a towel.

Running a hand over Maura's shoulders to signal that she's behind her with something.

Dinner was just coming out of the oven and off the grill when Angela arrived a few minutes before six. She swept into the house with a flourish. Dropping her coat and purse on a chair, Angela reached down and kissed her granddaughter's pouting cheeks.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked the little girl

"Momma won't let me have dessert."

Jane walked in and scoffed, "Tell Nonna _why_ I won't let you have dessert, and TV, by the way."

Hayley Mae pouted even harder and didn't answer. She just dropped her head and kept reading the book in her lap.

Jane crossed her arms and spoke for her daughter, "Someone didn't take a nap, and then threw a tantrum because they were sleepy."

Angela nodded knowingly, "Okay then. So no dessert tonight. And how long without a TV?"

Jane tilted her head thinking, "Tonight at least. And we'll see if her attitude is better tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me."

Maura stepped into the room, "Oh hello Angela. Lovely to see you."

"You too." The older woman took a sniff, "I smell fresh bread."

Jane smiled, "Maura made fresh rolls. And some fresh bread this morning."

They sat down to dinner together at the small dining table in the kitchen. Hayley Mae pouted over her food, but it didn't slow her from eating it at her normal pace. Maura and Jane regaled Angela with their day's events. The bookstore and the park.

"How is Mrs. Cooper?" Angela asked of the book store owner

"I didn't see her." Jane answered after swallowing a bit, "Last time I was there, Erik said she wasn't doing well."

"Who is Mrs. Cooper?" Maura asked

Jane turned towards her with a soft smile, "She owns the bookstore. She has since I was a kid."

"I used to take her there when she was little." Angela remarked, "Her and her brothers. Though Tommy only ever wanted to hit the comic book store next door."

"Has it always been owned by the same person?"

"Yeah." Jane nodded, "Well, her brother owned it when I was a kid and she just worked there, but he died when I went into high school and she took over. I think the shop has been in their family awhile."

"So, I see reading was instilled in you at a young age." Maura smirked

The librarian smiled softly, "Yeah."

The table went quiet for a long moment, only the sound of clinking silverware in the room. Angela watched the two with curious eyes. Since Wednesday, only one day really, the two seemed even closer than before.

"So tomorrow." The older woman started, "Dinner at mine? I was thinking some ravioli."

"That sounds good, ma."

"What are you two going to do tomorrow?"

The student and the librarian looked at each other. Neither had really thought about it yet.

"I am open to whatever we decide." The blonde shrugged

"Yeah. I'm not sure what we're thinking yet. Haven't really talked about it yet."

"Well, you could head out to Newbury Street. Do some window shopping. Or go to the bay and have lunch at Maurice's."

"That sounds lovely." Maura regarded, "I love Newbury Street."

"Oh good. Someone who loves shopping." Angela clapped her hands in glee

Jane rolled her eyes, "Oh great. Someone who loves shopping." She said with sarcasm

"We don't have to go there." Maura said after she saw Jane's reaction, "If you don't enjoy shopping."

Jane changed her tuned quickly, "No, we can go. If you wanna shop, we can. I was just being funny."

As the two smiled at each other, once again, Angela rolled her eyes. If Jane was agreeing to shopping, she sure had it bad.


	17. Shopping & A Nap

_A/N_

 _1\. Just as a little insight to my outlook for this story. I had a thought back when I was planning this that I was kind of tired of the fics where the two just jump right into bed with each other by the end of the first chapter. I like the build up, and that was my plan for this story. They don't know each other at all, and they're both serious about laying the groundwork with each other before jumping in._

 _2\. I promise, spring break is almost done. When first writing this, spring break was a glance over two chapters, but when writing it, so much more came out. Just this chapter and one more, and the timeline will move a lot faster._

Once Haley Mae was ushered off to her grandmother's house for the night, Jane and Maura were suddenly left alone in quiet.

"Well…" Jane waffled a little bit, "I guess I'll work on the dishes."

They ended up both doing the dishes. Maura cleared the table while Jane washed, then as the librarian finished up, Maura straightened up the living room.

"Care for some wine, Maur?" Jane called from the other room

"Yes, thank you." The blonde answered

The house was quite silent without its resident six-year-old. Maura looked around to find there was nothing else her hands could fidget with until the other woman came into the room.

Jane entered with a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

"Hope you don't mind I'm drinking a beer." The brunette sighed, "Just felt like I could use a beer." She handed the glass over with a flourish

"Oh, it's no problem. I hope you didn't just open the bottle of wine for me, though. I could have also had a beer."

Jane waved her off and plopped down on the couch.

Maura stood awkwardly a moment, looking down at the couch.

She could sit at the other end awkwardly or…

The spot right next to Jane looked rather inviting…

Sensing her dilemma, Jane patted the cushion right next to her with a smile, "Sit with me?"

Happy the decision was taken from her, Maura sat.

She sat rather stiffly at first until Jane wrapped an arm around her shoulder; pulling her closer.

"Maura." Jane started, after taking a hefty sip of her beer, "I…well. I was wondering if we could talk about something."

"Of course Jane. Anything in particular, or would you like me to come up with a topic?"

Jane couldn't stop the smirk, "No, I have something in mind already." She took a deep breath, "I know we've skirted around the topic, but…I was wondering…what do you think about…us?"

"Us?" Maura's heart skipped a little.

"Yeah. Um, us…together. Like a…couple."

"What do I think about us as a couple?" Maura's voice had turned breathless.

"Like, do you _see_ us as a, as a couple?"

"Well," Maura couldn't help but chuckle, "We've yet to go on a first date, Jane. Though we _have_ spent a great deal of time in bed together."

That caused the two of them to blush.

"True." Jane agreed with another sip of her beer. "Well, then. Um. Would you…would uh."

At her pause, Maura pushed, "Would I…?"

"What would you say if I asked you out on a date?"

Maura smiled, "I would probably say yes."

"Yeah?" Jane smiled widely

"I would."

"Cool." Jane was suddenly overtaken with nerves. Even though Maura had literally told her yes already, Jane didn't even know what kind of a date she'd take Maura on.

To give herself some time to think, Jane changed the topic, "Hey. I know we've monopolized all of your time this break. Do you have any homework you need to work on at all? Maybe tomorrow we could spend the afternoon here at home, and you could get some work done."

Though she felt a little whiplash at the change in subject, Maura nodded along, "I don't have anything due, but there is always something for me to read. Maybe if we have downtime tomorrow, I could pull my books out. Are you still agreeable to doing some shopping on Newbury Street tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Of course." Jane settled back into the couch, pulling the blonde with her

xxx

xxx

Morning came early, and the two were walking down Newbury street by eight am. Maura bought them both espressos from her favorite little coffee shop at the end of the row before they headed into their first store.

After two stores – one a handbag store and one a clothing shop – the two stopped for a quick bite to eat in a small boulangerie before heading into the third shop of the morning.

But the time lunch came around, Maura had purchased a new handbag and two pairs of shoes for herself, and a pair of jeans Jane had instantly had her eyes on the moment they had walked into that store. Jane insisted she didn't need another pair of pants. Really. She didn't. She just liked the color, that's all. She didn't even want to try them on.

But Maura all but pushed her into the dressing room with the two pairs around her size with a "just try them on, Jane. It won't hurt."

Jane came out a few moments later in them, her loose shirt tucked into the waistband to get a good look at the jeans. She had spun a few times, her hands running over the smooth denim. She made a few quiet comments, barely loud enough for Maura to hear.

"They're so soft. How is denim this soft?" She turned her back to the mirror to look at the fit on her butt and legs, "I've never had a pair of jeans that fit this well." She murmured

The brunette looked at the price tag and her eyes widened a little. "oh." She whispered, not knowing Maura could hear her, "That's why they're so nice…" she turned to the ogling blonde, "Yeah, they're nice. I just don't know if they're my style," she downplayed

"Of course they are." Maura refuted, "They fit so well, they could have been painted on."

Jane retreated into the dressing room with a blush and a hurried, "Yeah, I just don't think I'll get them this time."

With a sigh, Maura picked up another pair of jeans – same style, same color, same size – a second in a slightly different hue (for good measure) and had the clerk ring them up before Jane could even get out of the dressing room.

When Jane _did_ step out of the room, the pair neatly folded in her arms, she spotted the blonde at the register with the other pants, "What are you doing?"

"Buying you the pants."

"Oh, Maura, no. You don't have to do that."

"I want to." The blonde shrugged

"Yeah, but. Really. I have like, ten pairs of jeans at home. I don't need…" she counted, "two more. Really."

Maura pulled the credit card from her wallet and swiped it quickly, "oh no. I've already swiped my card." The smirk on her face was rather victorious and impish

"Maura." Jane sighed, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know. I _wanted_ to."

"But why? They're just jeans." Jane whispered, taking the bag from Maura

"Yes, but." Maura took a step closer and her eyes raked over Jane's body in a rather cat-ate-the-canary way, "I would like you to wear them on the date you haven't asked me out on yet. I find them rather… _attractive_ on you."

Startled, and slightly aroused, Jane watched the blonde walk towards the exit with a flounce in her step, before following quickly after.

xxx

They stopped for lunch just before noon – which Jane demanded she pay for since Maura had just spent a small fortune on two pairs of amazing pants for her – at a small pub tucked away between a dress shop, and yet another shoe store.

Maura had had the idea of ordering a light salad and an iced tea until Jane ordered the pub's specialty burger and an inhouse craft beer.

"That sounds delicious." Maura commented, "I'll have the same, but with a glass of whatever red wine is your best."

The waiter left them alone with a nod, scribbling away on his notepad.

"I never would have guessed that you were into pub burgers after a morning of shopping." Jane smirked around a mouthful of peanuts from the bowl in front of her.

"I can be known to try new things."

Jane picked up another handful of peanuts and popped a few in her mouth, "Jane…do you always eat from open bowls of bar peanuts that have been handled by potentially dozens of people?"

The brunette chuckled, "yeah. It's the thrill of possible disease that keeps me at it."

Maura looked up at her, concerned, until she saw the smirk, "You're teasing me."

Jane wiped her salty hand on a napkin before laying it on Maura's arm, "I'm just kidding Maura. Yes. I do eat bar peanuts. Especially when I spent the morning lugging shopping bags around, and I'm waiting for my lunch."

"Oh." Maura felt guilty suddenly, "Did you not want to go shopping today? We can be done. Let's do something you want to do."

Jane was quick to reassure the blonde, "No Maura. Really. I don't mind shopping. Well, I don't mind it with you." She corrected. "With my mother, no. With Hay, definitely not. But… I don't mind it, cause, well." Her cheeks colored lightly, "I get to spend time with you." She all but whispered

A bright smiled curled over Maura's lips. "I like spending time with you too, Jane. However, we spent the whole morning doing something I liked. Now, let's come up with something to do this afternoon that you like. What do you like to do?"

The waiter arrived with both of their baskets of food and drinks and left with a smile.

"I don't know." Jane shrugged. She picked up her burger and took a solid bite. "With having Hay all week, I didn't really think of anything to do besides watch movies and eat junk food."

Maura nodded, "Okay. Then think of something now. You have the whole afternoon free, what would you like to do?"

Jane took a few more bites, chewing thoughtfully. "Let's pop home and drop all the bags off, and then I'll think of something."

xxx

They stayed at the bar long after their food was done. They talked of sports Jane liked to play, and to watch. They talked of Maura's very short lived basketball career.

"Really, Jane. It was one game back in elementary school gym, before I went to private school. A girl passed the ball to me, but I wasn't paying attention, and it hit me square in the head. I had a lump for about a week."

They talked of simple things that didn't really matter.

xxx

xxx

By the time early afternoon started to set in, Jane and Maura walked through the front door of the small Rizzoli household.

"Let me go put away the bags in the bedroom." Maura offered

"Yokay." Jane agreed

As Maura unpacked the new jeans she had bought Jane, she felt suddenly tired. It had been a rather long morning, and actually, a rather long week.

It had been much more than Maura had expected, and she hadn't known what to expect when she started.

Ever since their conversation the night previous, Maura had felt like Jane was drifting closer to her each passing hour. As they walked down the street between stores, Jane was almost on top of her with how close she was standing. And when they went into store, Jane was always right behind her, quietly speaking with her. Not that Maura minded though. She rather liked the attention.

She had promised Jane that they could do something Jane wanted to do, but now she was really hoping that something Jane wanted to do included sitting down.

Maura finally made it back out to the living room to find Jane lying down lengthways on the couch.

"Jane?" she called

The brunette turned her head and smiled softly. "Come lie with me?"

Maura felt a little spark in her heart and readily agreed. Jane opened her arms and shifted to the back of the couch, giving the other woman little room on the couch. No matter. She'd just have to lie in Jane's arms. Oh well.

Once Maura had settled in, Jane lifted the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over the two of them.

"I thought we were going to do something you wanted to do." Maura sighed as she nuzzled her nose into Jane's collarbone

"This is exactly what I want to do right now." The brunette answered as her arms tightened around the smaller woman.

xxx

xxx

xxx

The sun was hanging low in the sky when the two were awoken from their nap by Jane's phone ringing. She fished it from her pocket and answered without opening her eyes, "Yello."

 _"Jane. Are you two still coming over for dinner?"_

Brown eyes opened and Jane pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the time. It was past 5, and dinner was at 6. "Shit." She muttered

Maura lifted her head and confusedly looked on with tired eyes.

"Yeah ma. We'll be there soon. We got distracted."

 _"Distracted huh?"_ her mother chuckled, _"Is that what you call…"_

Jane hit the end button before her mother could finish that thought.

"What's wrong, Jane?" Maura's head had dropped again to Jane's chest, and her eyes were closed

"We're late for dinner. I told ma we'd be there by 5 to help out."

Maura jumped from the couch, elbowing Jane in the stomach in her haste.

Jane grunted, "Maur, calm down. She doesn't care if we're late."

Maura had already headed into the bathroom to comb her fingers through her sleep tousled hair, "I look terrible." She muttered

The taller woman stepped into the bathroom and looked at her through the mirror, "You look like you took a nap. We're not going to meet the queen, Maur."

Maura stopped her preening and made eye contact with the other woman, who was now combing her own hair.

"What?" Jane saw the look

"You called me Maur."

Jane's eyes widened, "Shit, you don't like nicknames do you?"

"No. I do." Maura assured, "I just…no one really calls me anything except Maura. I like it…the nickname."

"Good." Jane smirked, "Me too."

xxx

Angela had quite the line ready for the two of them when they walked through the door that evening, but Jane had waved her off behind Maura's back. Maura found Hayley Mae in the living room reading and Jane joined her mother in the kitchen, "Sorry. She's just…she was already worried about being late. Just don't make a big deal about it." Jane sighed

Angela chuckled, "Fine."

xxx

When they all sat down, Angela asked what they had done with their time the night previous and that day.

Maura regaled the older woman with their trip out shopping and to the pub.

"Where else did you go today?" the matriarch asked

"Actually." Jane dredged her roll through the remaining gravy on her plate, "We just took a nap. The whole morning tired us out. Plus I never get naps with the monster around, so we took advantage of it." Brushing past her mother's almost comment, Jane asked, "What did you guys do today?"

"Well." Angela saw the diversion and took it, "We did some reading this morning, and Hayley Mae helped out with some chores around the house. Then we had a talk about what happened yesterday with the whole nap situation and she agreed that she was out of line." The older woman was now talking to the younger girl at the table, "And that she needed to apologize to her mother for throwing a fit."

Hayley Mae dutifully looked up at her mother, "I'm sorry mama."

Jane leaned over and kissed her daughter's head, "I forgive you baby."

"You have two full days left of break. Do you have any plans?" Angela asked

Jane looked to the blonde, who looked equally mystified, "Not that I know of, as of yet."

"Did you have any coursework to finish over your break, Maura?" Angela asked

"Nothing due. I finished all my work before this week. I do have some reading I could catch up on. One of my professors is known for pop quizzes directly after long breaks."

Jane turned towards her, "Why not stay home tomorrow and you can study. I've got plenty of things I could get done at the house. Maybe even do some reading of my own. And Hay's got lots of new books to keep her occupied."

Angela cut in, "I could keep her again, tonight. If you wanted a quiet day to study." She offered

Maura shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me. Thought I wouldn't mind a few hours to look over my notebooks."

"Then it's settled. I'll keep her another night. You alright with that?" Angela turned the question to her granddaughter

"Yas!" Hayley Mae exclaimed

xx

Jane and Maura returned home shortly after dessert was eaten. Before they left, Jane had stayed back a moment while Maura said goodbye to Haley Mae and found her mother in the kitchen.

"Hey ma." Jane popped her head in the door, "Can you watch Hayley Mae next Friday?"

"Of course." Angela turned to the calendar on the fridge to write it in, "Why?"

"I'm going to ask Maura on a date." She whispered

Angela turned with an upturned eyebrow and a smirk.

xxx

xxx

xxx

They had settled into bed almost the moment they got home. However, due to their long nap, neither was quite tired enough to actually sleep.

"Let's play a game." Jane started, turning the bedside light back on

"Okay? What kind of game?"

"Where do you see yourself in five years, ten years?"

Maura was taken aback by the question, "Well. I see myself done with school and with most of my residency." She started

"Okay, but outside of professional career stuff. What about, like…personal life goals?"

Maura could tell Jane was fishing for something and decided to play along.

"I'd like to teach, one day I think. Possibly in a hospital, or a college. I'd like to travel again, see some new places. One of my professors talked about his time in Doctors Without Borders and I've always thought that would be something fun and interesting to do. I'd like…to be, uh, married. Possibly have a…child. Or two."

Jane only smiled at her confession.

It spurred her on, "I'd like to find someone who loves me for _me_ and would want to build a home; a life together. What about you?"

"I'd like that too." Jane started, "The whole home and life thing."

Maura chuckled.

"But, I think I'd also like to teach someday. Maybe. I don't know. But I would like to get my master's degree, maybe even a PhD in something. I don't know. I would love to travel. I went to Italy as a kid with my Ma one time for a family thing. I absolutely loved it. I've wanted to go back for years. When I was in high school, I wanted to go during college, maybe go backpacking. But, then I had Haley. And don't get me wrong. I love her more than anything. But, I always regretted not going back."

Maura couldn't stop herself from scooting a little closer, "I'll take you." She whispered

Jane's eyes sparkled, "Yeah?"

"Yes. We'll visit the places you loved. And we'll go to Rome, and Florence. Oh, we went to the Amalfi Coast once when I was young, and it was absolutely gorgeous. You would love it. We can go there too."

"Okay."

"There is one problem though." Maura started

"What?"

Whatever it was, Jane was determined to fix it. If Maura wanted to go to Italy, she'd move heaven and earth.

"We need to go on a first date."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Gosh. Quite hounding me."

Maura almost thought she was serious, until the taller woman chuckled.

"You're teasing me again."

"I am. But only because it's so easy."

"I don't like teasing." Maura stated, "I was teased too much when I was younger."

"Hey." Jane whispered. She scooted down the bed a little bit to look in Maura's eyes better, "I don't tease to make fun. It's just…it's not meant to be mean. You know that right?"

Maura nodded shyly, "Okay."

"Really. I would never make fun of you. I think…I think you're perfect. And whoever had the gall to make fun of you was an asshole. And if you give me their name, I'll go…I'll do something."

Maura chuckled at Jane's determination, "You can save my honor another day. Just stay right here." She wrapped an arm around Jane's midsection.

Brown eyes stared into hazel for a long moment.

"Next Friday. Ma's watching Hayley Mae. I was hoping to come up with something before I asked you, but…you wanna go on a date with me?"

Jane could have been blinded by the light coming from Maura's smile.


	18. Saturday & Sunday

Maura woke late Saturday morning to Jane reentering the bedroom with two cups of coffee and some of the banana bread from the day before on a small plate. She climbed back into bed as Maura sat up and took one of the proffered cups. Jane grabbed her remote and turned the tv on that hung from the wall opposite the bed. She turned to a news channel and turned the volume down really low. Just loud enough to hear the story, but not too loud to discourage conversation.

The two leaned against the headboard in companionable silence as they took in their coffee and bread.

Jane took a moment to watch Maura from the corner of her eye.

 _xxx_

 _(Earlier)_

The brunette had woken just as the sun was coming up and hadn't been able to fall back asleep. Especially since there was a gorgeous blonde in the bed next to her that had agreed to a date with her. She had immediately grabbed her phone and started scrolling through restaurants in Boston that Maura might like. She'd taken a few notes and decided to call about reservations later in the day when Maura was studying.

She thought about her first date with Emily. It was super chill, and Jane was just going along for the ride. Emily had been asking her for weeks to go out on a date and Jane had finally relented. They went to some upscale restaurant across town and Emily had paid with her daddy's shiny black credit card. Afterwards, they went dancing at some club that Jane was barely old enough to enter. The whole date had been kind of lack luster for Jane, but Emily was pretty hot and even though she (at the time) didn't see a future with her, she wasn't going to turn down free dinner.

Jane's first date with Casey had been much the same. He was a senior and she was a junior. He was the goofy kid from England that had grown up to be the hot goofy soccer player. He asked her out right before she elbowed him in the eye in gym class. The whole eye thing was totally not intentional. She just got super competitive. They laughed over it on their first date, which turned out to be super chill as well. He picked her up in his dad's beater pick-up and they went to the bowling alley down the street from Jane's parent's home. They ate hotdogs and played two games before calling it a night. He had kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

But now, with her first date with Maura looming on the horizon, Jane was terrified. This was the first date of something that could change her whole life.

She had to keep talking herself down.

 _Okay._

 _Let's go over our checklist._

 _Maura's pro column:_

\- _Loves Hayley Mae (that's the biggest thing)_

\- _Loves hanging out with her_

\- _Fun_

\- _Funny_

\- _Ridiculously smart_

\- _Totally gorgeous_

\- _Loves ma_

\- _Loves ma's cooking (who doesn't?)_

\- _Wants to stick around in Boston_

\- _Wants to have a family_

\- _Perfect spooning partner_

\- _Loves cuddling_

 _Okay._

 _Now Maura's con list:_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

Jane couldn't think of anything so far.

Man, she had to have _something_ wrong with her…

Was she really that perfect?

A low grunt came from the body in her arms and the sound pulled Jane from her thoughts.

Maura snuffled a little and settled back to sleep.

Okay, so she snores?

Not really.

 _Oh!_ Jane thought

 _She likes to shop._

That wasn't really a con either.

She _did_ get two new pairs of super nice jeans from the whole ordeal.

 _I hope she doesn't do that often._ Jane thought, _I hate when people spend money on me_.

 _She can spend all she wants on Hay though_.

xxx

The slight twinge in her head signaled to Jane that it was time to get up and make some coffee.

Maybe she could even microwave some of that banana bread…

xxx

xxx

Maura let the coffee wake her slowly as her eyes zoned out on the TV in front of her.

As her brain came back to life, she thought over the previous week. Maura couldn't remember the last time she'd met someone so amazing and smart and gorgeous and wonderful and caring…

Okay, so maybe the coffee wasn't working yet and was making her ramble in her head.

She took another sip and felt the caffeine start to work a little more.

Jane had finally asked her out and they were set to have a date on the coming Friday.

She'd have to tell her mother.

 _Speaking of_ …Maura thought as she dug around the covers for her phone. She opened up her mother's text chain and sent off a quick, _We have a date next Friday_.

There was almost an immediate response _Huzzah!_

She chuckled.

"What?" Jane asked, looking over at her.

"Nothing. Just my mother."

Jane nodded and turned back to the TV.

Her phone vibrated again, _Where is she taking you?_

 _She wasn't sure yet._ She typed back.

Maura thought about their coming day alone, "So what will you be doing while I am working on schoolwork today?"

Jane shrugged, "Eh, I've always got something I can work on. I have a few books that have been sitting on my shelf, unread. Maybe I'll pull out one of those."

"If, at any time, you get bored of waiting for me to finish, please don't hesitate to tell me. I really don't have to do any schoolwork today."

"You have to get back into it sometime, Maur. School starts back up the day after tomorrow."

The blonde grimaced, "I find that for the first time since I was a child, I am not excited about school starting again."

Jane laughed and pulled Maura close, "I knew you had some normal in you!"

xxx

The two soon found themselves curled up on Jane's couch, each with their own tasks set before them. Maura pulled her detailed notebooks from her bags and started to review the subject material, whereas Jane pulled her laptop out and was answering emails.

"Hey Maur." Jane asked

"Yes?" the blonde didn't look up from the formula her finger was tracing over

"Uh, I guess we never talked about it, but when are you going back to you place?"

That caused Maura to look up. Her lips pouted slightly as she thought, "It would make the most sense for me to leave tonight. I have laundry to do after this week, I'll need to unpack and get my things in order for Monday."

"So today is our last day?" Jane already knew the answer, she just didn't want to accept it.

"Seems so."

They made a sad sort of eye contact, before going back to their work.

xxx

Lunch was leftover sandwiches from the meats and cheeses from the deli the day before.

Maura finished her review shortly before 2 pm and started on packing up her things.

"If you forget anything." Jane started, helping Maura fold a t-shirt, "You can just text me. I'll bring it by." Her voice was quiet and held a hint of sadness.

"I know. Thank you Jane."

xxx

Just before dinner, Angela dropped of her granddaughter and two pizzas for the small threesome and went on her merry way. Once dinner was through, Maura said her goodbyes to both Rizzoli women and made her way home.

xxx

Sunday morning came a little early for both Maura and Jane. Both women had had restless nights with little sleep. They had come to realize that after just a few days, they had become quite used to sleeping beside someone else, and both of their beds felt rather empty.

Jane let her daughter sleep in a good chunk of the morning while she started on getting the house back in order. Maura woke early and got quite a bit of studying, and laundry done before she even thought about lunch.

As afternoon shifted into evening, Jane found herself stuck in a loop of cartoons. She had told Hayley Mae they had one more day of cartoons before school again and the girl took it as a challenge.

Dinner passed and Jane soon found herself nursing a beer, alone on the couch after Hayley Mae went to bed. Without much thought, she picked up her phone, swiped a few times and put it to her ear.

 _"Hello?"_

"Is it weird that I could barely sleep last night?"

 _"You had a problem as well?"_ Maura sighed

"And now I'm kind of dreading going into my room."

 _"I understand very well what you are feeling. Going from sleeping in your large bed to my simple twin was a little bit of a shock."_

Jane smirked, "So you only liked me for my bed?"

Maura scoffed, _"I also missed the warm body wrapped around me, thank you very much."_ She defended

"I know, I'm just kidding. I feel the same. Took me forever to fall asleep, and then I woke up super early."

Silence rang over the line.

 _"…I can't wait for our date, Jane."_

The brunette smiled, "I know. I've got the perfect restaurant picked out. It sucks that it isn't till Friday." It started to sink in that she didn't really have a reason to see Maura for another five days, unless they bumped into each other.

 _"We'll see each other at some point, I imagine. You know, in case I visit the library to bring my favorite librarian an afternoon pick-me-up."_

Jane had a thought, "I don't want to wait till Friday."

 _"What?"_

"I mean, I _so_ want to do our date Friday, but, would you be interested in moving it up a few days?"

Maura cut in, _"Absolutely."_

"Tuesday?"

 _"Can you wear those jeans?"_

Jane laughed, "Yes I can wear those jeans."

Maura hummed, _"Then can we do tomorrow night?"_

The brunette laughed again, "I can't tomorrow. I have a late meeting at seven."

 _"Then Tuesday it is."_

"Tuesday it is."

xxx

xxx

xxx

Jane woke with a new vigor Monday morning. Hayley Mae was already getting herself dressed when she went to wake her. Jane picked up her phone and swiped a few times.

 _"Morning baby."_ Came her mother's smoky voice

"Hey ma, what are you doing tomorrow night?"


	19. Date Night & Dishing

_I didn't that thing again where I posted on one site and forgot the other. Sorry._

 _Here's the date :)_

* * *

Monday morning dragged on for both women. Maura found herself stuck in classes for the majority of with day and an unexpected, last-minute department meeting that afternoon. Jane even found her own Monday to be quite lack-luster with back to back meetings talking about the end of the school year and finals week hours. In the morning, Jane had pushed their coffee date back a few hours, and by 3pm, Maura canceled it altogether.

But when Jane woke up Tuesday morning, she was in quite a better mood due to their impending date that evening. She walked into work with a pep in her step, so much so that her coworkers began to notice within moments of walking in the door.

One of the students working the returns desk leaned back in her chair to watch her boss with a smirk, "Did we have a good night last night? Or are we having a good night tonight?" It was rare for Jane to be in such a mood so early in the week.

The brunette blushed, her smile peeking through, "As a matter of fact, I have a date _tonight_."

Blue eyes widened, "Please tell me it's the hot blonde that comes in all the time to visit you." The girl pleaded

"It is." Jane leaned against the counter next to her student worker and flipped her fingers through a stray paperback on the counter.

"What do you have planned?"

Jane looked around to make sure no one was around for them to bother with their giggly conversation. Seeing no one on the floor, Jane dished.

"There's this little gastro pub on 5th I found a few months ago. It's amazing. And they have live music and dancing after the dinner rush. It's perfect. High dining mixed with a casual atmosphere."

"What are you going to wear?"

"Jeans and a nice sweater probably."

"Jeans? On a date?"

Jane blushed again and kicked her foot against the file cabinet beneath her, "Well, she, um, she bought them…and she asked me to wear them."

"Ooo _ooo_ ooo." The girl exaggerated at Jane's blush, "She _bought_ you these jeans? I assume they look good on you?"

Jane nodded, "Oh yeah," she chuckled

The student's eyes turned away to someone who walked up to the desk, "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I was wondering if Jane Rizzoli was free?"

The librarian spun at the sound of Maura's voice, "Maur."

Marie (the student) fake-typed away on the keyboard in front of her, "Yes, she's free right now. All she has planned for today is an afternoon of lolly-gagging with her student workers, and then apparently, a hot date tonight."

Maura blushed and looked down.

Jane reached over and not so subtly smacked the back of Marie's head. "Wanna get some coffee?" she asked

The blonde nodded, "Yes, please. That is the reason I stopped by."

xxx

Jane returned from the coffee date with an even higher bounce in her step. Marie, still sitting in the same spot, followed her with her eyes, "How was coffee?" she asked, fully knowing how well it went.

"Shut up." The brunette rolled her eyes as she passed

"I expect the whole story tomorrow!" Marie called after her

xxx

Jane left work a few hours early to get home, showered and dressed for their date. As she was running a little product into her hair with her fingers, Hayley Mae was in an excited tizzy, strolling up and down the halls whining, "But I wanna go _too_!"

"Maybe another time, baby." Angela chuckled, wiping her wet hands on a towel. She'd started Jane's pile of dishes when she came over to take over watching the little girl for the evening.

"But I wanna see _Mo_." Hayley Mae whined again

Jane rolled her eyes and turned towards her daughter, "How about I pick you up for lunch tomorrow, and we'll surprise Mo after her class?"

"Okay." The little girl mumbled, plopping back down on the couch with another book

"Those jeans look good on you, baby."

"Thanks ma, Maura bought them for me."

"She bought you pants?" Angela leaned against the doorframe and looked in at her daughter

"Yeah, when we went shopping last week. I told her not to buy them, but she insisted. She had the card out and swiped before I even noticed."

Jane twisted her hips to get a better look of herself in the mirror. She ran a hand over her ass and thigh, "I _will_ say, these are the nicest jeans I've ever owned."

"I can see why she wants you to wear them. They make your ass look good."

"Ma!" Jane chastised, though her smile belayed her tone, "No swearing in front of the kid."

Angela reached out and slapped her daughter's behind playfully.

Jane checked her watch and jumped just slightly to get herself into gear, "Crap. I gotta get movin, ma."

The brunette grabbed her keys, wallet and jacket and made her way towards the door; kissing her daughter's head on the way.

"Have fun, sweetie." Angela called

"I will. Bye monster." She directed to her daughter

Hayley Mae looked up and jumped from the couch with a piece of paper in her hands, "Give this to Mo!"

xxx

xxx

Jane walked up to the two-story brownstone, nervous as all get out. She shuffled from foot to foot for a moment before ringing the doorbell.

A few thuds behind the doors met her ears before the door sung open to reveal a red-haired woman; tall and lanky, wearing a pale blue pair of scrubs.

"Yeah?" the woman seemed perturbed

"I'm here for Maura?"

The woman gave Jane an annoyed up-down look before she turned to walk away, with a screamed, "ISLES! DOOR!"

Surprised by the yell, Jane took a step back, then cautiously stuck her head in the door to watch the other woman retreat further into the house.

"Coming!" came Maura's muffled reply from above

Thundering steps came down unseen steps and suddenly Maura slid on stockinged-feet in front of the brunette, out of breath.

"Hi." Maura breathed

The librarian chuckled, "Good evening. Ready?"

"Yes, one moment." Maura turned to the coat rack behind her and slipped on a soft, tan jacket that complemented her outfit well, and a pair of shoes.

Jane took the moment to take in the other woman and really have a good look at her. Maura had gone with the same theme as Jane with a pair of nicer jeans and a silk, crème blouse. Her hair was half up in a ponytail and half down in soft curls.

The blonde turned back with a smile.

"You're gorgeous." Jane breathed, finally tearing her eyes from Maura's legs and back up to her eyes

"And you as well. I see you listened to my request." Hazel eyes hungrily ate up Jane's body before returning to brown with a mischievous glint.

"Well, you asked so nicely, how could I not?" she held out her arm in invitation.

Maura grabbed her purse and curled her hand around Jane's elbow.

xxx

xxx

Jane held the door to the restaurant open for the blonde, letting her walk in first.

Maura took in the place with intrigued eyes.

It wasn't that large of a restaurant, no bigger than a normal pub in Boston. In the middle of the dining room was a wooden floor, surrounded by tables. On the back wall was a stage where a small jazz band was playing. Waiters flitted between tables, and they were soon seated in a booth on the perimeter of the dining room.

"What is this place?" Maura asked, looking down at double sided, paper menu

"It's called a gastro pub. They take normal bar food and upscale it but give you the remnants of a bar feel in the atmosphere. It's a casual place to eat, but with really, really great food." Jane's eyes perused the menu, "They have the best garden burger I've ever had. I normally don't do veggie burgers, but this thing is delicious."

Forgoing her normal beer, Jane ordered a bottle of the recommended wine and they placed their appetizer and meal orders.

"So, are you all settled back into school and your place?" Jane asked

The two spent the next few minutes talking about their last two days back into their normal schedule. The waiter stopped by partway through with their appetizer plate of bruschetta.

Once the food arrived, the two went into a comfortable silence as they ate and listened to the band play.

It wasn't loud and impeding to any conversation they had, but rather soft and romantic.

As their plates were taken away, Jane's heart started to beat faster.

Other patrons had already started to leave their tables in favor of slow dancing to the music on the wooden portion of the floor.

The librarian looked across the table to see Maura's eyes were shining brightly with in the candlelight, a soft smile on her lips as she watched the others dance.

With her heartbeat roaring in her ears, Jane reached her hand across the table to her date, "Would you like to dance?"

Maura turned with the brightest smile Jane had seen yet, "Of course," she breathed

The brunette jumped out of her booth and pulled the other woman to the dance floor, which was quickly filling up with other patrons, and they swayed slowly to the beat.

"I'm not really a good dancer."

Maura shrugged cutely, "I'm not either. But I won't say no to some swaying, as long as your arms are around me."

Jane blushed and did as requested, wrapped her arms around Maura's waist and holding her close as they swayed to the beat.

xxx

They danced to two songs before Jane looked back down at Maura. Her lips curled into a soft smile, "You're beautiful." Her words were whispered just loud enough for Maura to hear

"You're not so bad yourself." She smirked

They swayed for a few minutes before Jane smirked.

"What?" Maura noticed

"Hayley Mae was quite beside herself when I told her she couldn't come tonight."

The blonde laughed, throwing her head back a little.

"Oh!" Jane remembered, "I have a drawing in my coat pocket she wanted me to give you."

"Wonderful! I haven't gotten any art in a few weeks."

"Do you keep it?" Jane asked

Maura tilted her head slightly, "Of course I do. I hang them on the wall in my bedroom. They brighten my day when I get bogged down with homework."

The librarian spun Maura out with a flourish before bringing her back in to a close embrace again.

"I'll show you them when you drop me off, if you'd like."

That soft smile came back, "I would love that." Remembering the red-haired woman from earlier, Jane asked, "Was that your roommate I met earlier?"

"Which one?"

"Red hair, annoyed look?"

"Ellen, yes. Margo was there too, but Brian was in a night class."

"Three roommates? How do you all live in such a small space?"

"I stay mostly in my room and don't use much of the rest of the house."

"Why not get a space of your own?"

The blonde shrugged, "When I moved back to town for med school, I didn't like the idea of living by myself in my parent's big house on Beacon Hill, nor did I like the idea of living alone in an apartment. So, I advertised to other med students. They found _me_ actually. They needed a fourth roommate to help with rent."

"Do you at least get along with them?"

Maura's lips pursed as she thought, "We tolerate each other, but we're not close friends by any means.

Jane pulled her closer, _I wish she could just move in with us_ … she thought

Maura looked up at her with a smile, as if reading her thoughts.

 _Someday._

xxx

xxx

Had it been a weekend and not a weekday, both Jane and Maura would have stayed out for quite a bit longer, dancing the night away in each other's' arms. But when Jane's saw her watch read 9:30pm, and Maura let out a stifled yawn, they decided to call it a night.

They walked up the short sidewalk to Maura's brownstone just as the clock was hitting 10pm.

"Would you still like to see the drawings by your daughter?"

"Oh yeah!" _Perfect_ , Jane thought, _I wasn't really ready to let her go yet._

Maura had similar thoughts as she unlocked the door, _I wish I had a better excuse to keep her here longer…_

She led the brunette up the stairs and down a short hallway before opening a door and letting the both of them into her bedroom.

Jane took quick stock of the room as Maura turned on the lights and took her jacket off.

It was small – about the size of a dorm room – there was a twin bed against one wall, a dresser and a desk against another. On the wall opposite to the desk, there were at least a dozen colored pictures and hand drawn creations that looked very familiar to the brunette. She stepped up to the wall with a bright smile.

"These must be them."

Maura matched her smile as she turned towards her for a moment, "They really do brighten up my day when I see them."

Jane turned to see Maura dropping her handbag and coat on the perfectly made bed. She watched the blonde turn to the dresser and start to take off her shoes, pull out her earrings and untuck her blouse.

It was all very domestic to Jane, just in the wrong setting.

She wished, very much so, that she could be doing the same, and that it was their bed they could crawl into.

"Maur." It came out as a whisper, but the heard it anyways and turned with a curious look.

Jane couldn't hold herself back anymore. She stepped forward, grabbed Maura by her cheeks and crashed their lips together.

Surprised, Maura stood stock still until her brain finally caught up with what was happening.

But soon, she was fully participating in the kiss.

At the feeling of Jane's tongue pushing into her mouth, Maura's knees felt suddenly weak. She stepped back, guiding the two of them towards the nearest wall where Maura sagged against; bringing Jane against her.

They stood there for quite a long time, letting themselves enjoy the feeling of a good old-fashioned make out.

Jane felt like a teenager again as her fingers trailed up and down Maura's neck and collarbones.

Maura, for the first time in a long time, let her body take over instead of her mind. She surrendered to the onslaught of feeling and emotion pouring out of the taller woman in her grasp. Her hands sought purchase on thin hips and pulled the body farther into herself until she felt like they were one being.

Jane finally pulled away, gasping for breath and opened her eyes to see bright hazel staring up at her.

Their lips were swollen and red from their recent assault. They were both panting deeply as they regained their breath.

Jane's lips slowly curved up into a smile. "Hi."

"Hi. That was nice."

"Just nice?" Jane chuckled, brushing a lock of hair from Maura's cheek.

"A little more than nice." The blonde smirked

"How nice?"

Something dark and mischievous overtook Maura's features, "Would you like evidence to how nice?"

Jane's eyes widened, and there was an obvious change to the size of her pupils at the blonde's invitation, "Uhmmm…"

A pink tongue ran over Maura's lips, causing brown eyes to shoot down towards it at the movement.

"Ummm?" Maura repeated with a smirk

"Ummm, I think that maybe I should leave…" Jane whispered

Suddenly disappointed, Maura pouted, "Really?"

"Really." Jane breathed

"But why? We just started having fun?"

Jane whined, "Because, if I don't, I'll stay. And I'll stay all night." She husked, leaning her body back in Maura's, capturing lips in one more kiss, "And then I'll be late for work, and you'll be late for class, and it'll be a whole thing we can avoid if I leave now."

Both sighed and felt a great loss as they untangled from each other.

"So, I'll see you Friday?" Maura asked, slightly breathless

"Oh, don't do that." Jane groaned

"Do what?"

"Do that whole, breathless thing, _'I'll see you Friday'_." Jane imitated a little more exaggerated

The blonde blushed, "I don't sound like that."

Jane leaned into her once more, whispering into her ear with a growl, "Oh yes, yes you do. And if you do it again, you're going to have a hard time getting me out of this room."

Maura chuckled, " _You're_ the one trying to leave."

Jane turned back to the small bed against the wall, "Your bed is too small…" she supplied

"And has that ever stopped you in the past?"

Jane thought back to the last time a twin bed – her own – did _not_ stop anything, "No. But the last time I didn't stop something on a twin bed, I had Hayley Mae nine months later."

The blonde laughed, "I don't think I have the right parts for you to get pregnant, Jane."

Jane smiled and leaned in for another, deeper kiss, "No, but you _do_ have parts that will get me into trouble." She whispered

Maura whimpered into the kiss; wrapping her arms back around Jane's waist.

They let the kiss go on for a few more moments before Maura pulled away again, "Okay. But maybe you're right." She even took the initiative to step out from Jane's hold and pulled the brunette down the hallway to the front door.

xxx

"Jane, I had an amazing evening." Maura started as she opened the front door, "The food was amazing, the wine was divine. The music and the dancing was perfect."

"And that." Jane pointed to the ceiling above them, " _That_ was pretty fun too."

Maura blushed and bodily pushed the taller woman out the door, "Away with you, before we do something bad."

Jane chuckled but took the hint and stepped out onto the front stoop.

"So, Friday?" Maura asked again

"Of course." She leaned in for one more kiss, "Though, I think the date after that, we have to bring Hay along. I promised she could come with us sometime."

"Absolutely!" Maura smiled, "I would love that. And, possibly, sometime, if you're okay with it, I would like to take her out on my own? Just the two of us?" she hedged, "I would like to get to know her better."

Jane's expression turned suddenly serious as she regarded the smaller woman.

"What?" Maura felt like she'd said something wrong, "Is that a bad idea?"

"No…" Jane started, biting her lip, "You're just…so perfect."

The blonde smiled, "Then you like the idea?"

"I like _you_." She took a few steps back, "Coffee tomorrow?"

"Yes, please." Maura agreed, watching Jane go

xxx

xxx

xxx

When Jane walked into work the next morning, Marie happened to be waiting by her office door with two cups of coffee and an expectant smile, " _Soooo_?"

The brunette plucked one coffee from the tray and smiled brightly, "Come have a seat."


	20. Easter & A Phone Call

Their second date was just as amazing as the first. The third was even better with Hayley Mae tagging along for an evening of putt putt and junk food. The fourth date, Maura planned. It was just dinner and dessert at the Rizzoli household, Hayley Mae invited as well. Over the next few weeks, they had a million little dates in between their big dates. There was coffee, quick lunches between classes, take out taken to Maura's when she knew the blonde had had a long day, and multiple evenings in at the Rizzoli home.

Over one such lunch date, the two sat in Jane's office, Maura and Jane's feet up on the coffee table as they used their legs as tables for their sub sandwiches.

As Jane scrolled through facebook on her phone, she was reminded of an upcoming holiday, "Hey, what are you doing for Easter? You going to New York to see your parents or something?"

"Easter? I don't usually do anything special for Easter. We're not particularly religious. Are you?"

Jane shrugged, "I was born catholic. Ma and pop were born catholic. We went to mass as kids, but once I got old enough, I started going a little less. I don't go as often as I probably should, but Ma makes a big deal about Easter and Christmas. If you're in town, you're more than welcome to join us." She paused, and then hastily added, "you don't have to. If you're not comfortable, you can just come to Easter dinner. Or not. Whatever."

"Are you going to the mass?"

"Yeah. Hay and I go."

"Then I would love to join your family for mass. I think it will be an interesting thing to experience."

"Cool." Jane smiled, "hey, you'll probably meet Frankie too. He's supposed to be coming home the day before."

"He is the middle one, correct?"

"Yeah. He's cool. I think you'll like him."

"If he's anything like you, I will definitely like him."

Jane smirked and leaned over to capture a quick kiss.

"Okay you goofball. Quit being so cheesy."

"Tell me what else you do on Easter." Maura prompted, opening her bag of baked chips

x

* * *

x

The night before Easter, Maura arrived at the Rizzoli home with a duffle bag over her shoulder. Bypassing the doorbell or knocking, she hesitantly opened the door and stuck her head in to see Jane sitting on the couch with a snuggly Hayley Mae straddling her mother's hips in a cuddle.

"Hey!" Jane smiled, "come in."

"I didn't want to barge in." Maura blushed as she stepped in and shut the door.

"You're always welcome, honey. Don't ever feel the need to knock."

The blonde dropped her bag and saw Hayley Mae had turned her head and was staring up at her with sleepy eyes, "Mo…" she moaned quietly

"Hi, little one." She whispered, running her fingers through soft blonde curls. It was a little damp, "did we have a bath?"

Hayley Mae nodded sleepily.

"And we're almost ready for bed." Jane said quietly, "We just wanted to see you and say goodnight."

Hayley Mae lifted a little arm and tried to pull Maura closer.

The blonde took the direction and sat down directly next to the two. Hayley Mae let go of her mother and crawled over to sit the same way in Maura's lap; legs straddling Maura's hips and body leaning against hers.

Warmth spread through Maura's body as Jane draped a blanket over the two of them.

"She won't be there long." Jane whispered, "She'll be asleep in a minute."

"Oh, she's perfectly fine where she is." Maura responded back softly, tightening her grip around the small girl.

Jane stood slowly, "Wine?" she asked

"If it's open already. Otherwise I can drink a beer." She knew Jane didn't drink wine often, so she never wanted Jane to open a bottle if she wasn't also drinking it.

The brunette came back a few minutes later with two glasses of wine and sat back down next to Maura. The blonde draped the corner of the blanket over Jane's legs as well and took the offered glass from her.

She placed her barely touched glass on the table next to her and settled back into the couch, Jane's arm around her shoulder.

"I like this." Maura whispered, feeling full of love in the embrace from her two favorite women

Jane leaned over and gave her a kiss, "Me too."

They sat there for quite a while in the almost quiet room. The TV droned on to some late night talk show while Hayley Mae quietly snored in Maura's ear.

xxx

xxx

Maura startled awake early the next morning as someone barged into the room loudly, "Janie, wake up! Ma's driving me nuts already! You need to…oh shit."

As Maura's eyes fell on the young man in the doorway, she pulled the blanket up higher to her chin.

"Frankie. I'm sleepin." Jane mumbled through a mouthful of pillow, "Go'way."

"Ok." He nodded, blushing as he steps from the room, "I'll let you two get ready."

As the door shut, the words registered in Jane's head. She sat up and saw Maura's almost frantic look; the blanket held tight to her chin

"Shit, sorry Maur. I didn't know he was coming over today." The brunette sat up and ran her fingers through her hair

Maura finally dropped the blanket and sat up.

"At least we weren't naked." Jane chuckled, taking in the sight of Maura's silk pajamas, "I do like your jammies though."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean…naked is good too…but." A light blush hit Jane's cheeks as she turned away to start getting ready.

Maura felt her cheeks blush hard as she watched Jane pull her t-shirt over her head as she walked into the walk-in closet. She saw the large expanse of Jane's lean back, covered in lean muscles as she pulled a robe around her body.

She dropped her head to her hands, trying to slow her racing heart.

xxx

xxx

Maura finally joined the others in the kitchen once her shower was finished and she was dressed and ready for the day. She'd heard Hayley Mae scream in delight at the sight of her uncle, "Uncle Fwankie!"

Maura turned the corner into the kitchen to see Jane and her brother talking quietly over a couple cups of coffee. They both turned to her when she entered, and Jane smiled brightly, "Maur. This is my brother, the really loud annoying one that barged in this morning," Jane laughed

Frankie rolled his eyes, "I apologized, Janie. Get over it." He stepped forward and shook Maura's hand, "Hi, I'm Frankie. Sorry again about earlier." The young man was dressed nicely in a pressed oxford and matching tie, slacks and dress shoes.

"Hello." Maura took his hand with a soft smile, "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too. Janie won't shut up about her wonderful, amazing, gorgeous, delightful, caring, amazing girlfriend. God, I can never get a word in when she calls. It's not like _I_ have anything to talk about." Frankie teased his sister

Jane leaned over and punched him hard in the shoulder, "Shut up." He put his coffee down and they play wrestled right there in the middle of the kitchen. Hayley Mae jumped from her seat to join in.

"Would you two stop it!" came a booming voice behind them

Everyone turned to see Angela coming in the door, dressed up nicely, hands on her hips, "Good gracious. Can't even pretend to be civilized in front of other people. Were you raised in a barn?"

Frankie pointed to his sister accusingly, "She started it ma. I was just defendin' myself."

Angela rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I bet you didn't instigate it either."

Maura couldn't help but smirk at the exchange.

"Get yourselves together and let's get a move on."

Haley Mae came into the room, dressed in a cute little dress, matching the deep maroon of Jane's shirt. Jane was dressed similarly to her brother. Pressed oxford, dress pants and heels. The brunette towered over her more than usual, but Maura actually liked the height. She had donned her own heels and they complimented each other well.

xxx

xxx

xxx

Maura followed behind Jane and Angela into the massive church, feeling quite a bit of anxiety. It had been years since she'd stepped foot into any sort of religious building. With it being Easter as well, Maura's anxiety skyrocketed up even more. This was one of the biggest holidays of the Christian and Catholic religions. Each Rizzoli greeted the priest at the front door. He greeted them by name with a smile. When Maura shook his hand and introduced himself, he just smiled warmly at her, "welcome, Maura.

They stepped into the sanctuary and Angela led them to a pew towards the middle. Each Rizzoli did a little, half kneel along with a cross over their hearts before sidling into the pew. Jane placed her daughter in between the two of them as they sat.

The service itself was beautiful with its pomp and circumstance. She'd spent a few days researching Catholic traditions around Easter and what they meant, so she had a little bit of an idea of what was happening. For the most part, the blonde remained in respectful silence, following Jane's lead with standing or sitting at any point.

As the service started, a children's choir came out, dressed in robes and began to sing something in Latin. The blonde listened intently, her brain silently translating the words. Angela leaned forward over her daughter to say something to Maura, "Would you believe Janie used to sing in that choir?"

Maura's jaw dropped a little in surprise.

"She was the tallest, most gangly looking thing up there."

"Ma." Jane sighed

"What? You were cute." The older woman shrugged, as if her explanation was sound

"Do you have any pictures?" Maura asked

"Maura!" Jane chuckled

"A whole album." Angela answered with a bright smile

As the service dragged on, Hayley Mae started to nod quite a bit. Jane offered to pull her into her lap, but the little girl bypassed her mother completely and went straight to Angela's open arms. She was soon asleep in her grandmother's arms; Angela rocking just slightly back and forth as she listened to the sermon.

* * *

When it was all over, the whole crew loaded up into the two cars and made their way to the matriarch's house. Jane planted her daughter on the couch with coloring books and Frankie flipped the TV on for football. Just as Jane was about to follow her mother into the kitchen, Maura's phone rang. She watched the blonde step out the front door with a smile sent her way.

It was some time later that Maura entered the house again. Yet this time, she had an odd look on her face. She seemed to be upset about something, but as soon as she was about to go ask, Jane was called back into the kitchen.

Dinner was delicious as usual. A huge ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cornbread and homemade rolls were cooked to perfection. Frankie relayed stories from school and baseball. Haley Mae remained absolutely fascinated by every word coming from his mouth.

Maura remained rather quiet through the meal, and Jane watched from her side of the table.

She kept a frequent eye on her girlfriend through the meal. At one point, she ran her toes up Maura's leg to get her attention. The blonde looked up and Jane furrowed her eyebrows in a silent question, _You okay?_

Maura only nodded slightly and went back to looking down at her food.

xxx

xxx

When it came time to clear the table, Jane tried to get away and talk to her, to see what was going on, but her mother caught her first.

"Janie, time for dishes!"

"One sec." she called back before turning to Maura, "hey, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Maura said rather unconvincingly

"You sure? You've been really quiet all through dinner."

"It's fine Jane."

"Janie!" came her mother's voice

With a sigh, Jane laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Maur, if there _is_ something, you can tell me, you know that, right?"

"I do, Jane." The blonde assured, pushing Jane towards the kitchen with a smirk, "Go help your mother before she grounds you."

"Ha. Ha." Jane scoffed as she followed her directions.

xxx

xxx

Jane scooped up her napping daughter once the dishes were done and they all made their way back home, minus Frankie and her mother. Jane dropped her daughter into her small bed and came back out to find Maura curled up on one end of the couch, staring into space.

Jane bypassed the living room to grab two glasses of wine before she plopped down next to her, handing one glass to the blonde.

"Okay. I won't push past this. I just want you to know that whatever is going on, I'm here for you. If you're upset about going to mass, or something the priest said, that's okay. If you're upset about Frankie barging in this morning, I'll be more than happy to punch him again."

Maura smirked slightly.

"If it's something you don't want to talk about, that's fine too. I'm more than happy to just sit here and hold you for the afternoon if that'll make you feel better."

Maura nodded, and Jane wrapped an arm around her shoulders. As they sat there on the couch, all that could be heard was the occasional sip of wine, or their combined breathing.

Maura listened to Jane's breathing even out a little and knew Jane was falling asleep. She took a moment of respite to think over her earlier phone call.

It really wouldn't do to let her anxiety build up…

"I've been offered an internship in New York."

Jane looked down at the woman who spoke for the first time in an hour.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. It's to shadow the chief medical examiner of New York City. I'd be going into the field for cases and observing all sorts of criminal cases. I would have the opportunity to learn so much. And it's a very competitive internship; they only take on two out of hundreds of applicants a year."

"Maura, that's awesome! You should be excited!"

"I'm very elated at the prospect of such an amazing opportunity." She said in a rather monotone voice.

"You don't sound like it." Jane chuckled

"It's for three months."

Jane's shoulders dropped, "Oh…"

"And it starts two days after school lets out this year."

" _Oh_ …"

"I'd be gone till two weeks before school starts next fall."

Jane took a hefty sip of her wine and placed the glass down.

"I applied last August; long before we met. I didn't intend to be in a relationship when this would possibly come about."

"Maura, this is so awesome! You're going to have such a great time."

The blonde looked up at her thoughtfully, "So you want me to go." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Of course? Why wouldn't I?" Jane's smile started to falter

"I didn't know…how you'd feel."

"Well, it sucks, yeah. But, you planned for this before we were together. I can't…I don't really have a right to tell you no, anyways."

"True…but I'd hope…" She paused, biting her tongue.

"What?"

"Frankie called me your girlfriend earlier today."

"Yeah?"

"We haven't talked about that yet. Seeing as we've been on a few dates, I would only assume that his assumption was correct."

"Well, yeah. Of course, Maur. Unless you don't want to put a name to it yet. That's fine."

"No…I like being called… _that_."

Jane smirked, "My girlfriend?"

Maura's cheeks pinked cutely, "Yes." Her expression turned serious yet again, "But that does leave us in an awkward position for the coming months."

The brunette nodded, "Yeah, I guess it does."

Maura thought for a few moments, "What would you think about…moving in together?"

"What?"

"I know it's soon. We've only been on a handful of dates…but Jane. I feel like I've known you forever. And, I'm not sure how you feel, but I feel like we could be something great together. I feel like we could go the distance…"

"Yes." Jane cut her off with a serious answer, "I do too. God." Jane sighed in relief, "I've been trying to rationalize asking you to move in since Spring Break."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" she chuckled, "God, Maura…I _so_ love having you here, and so does Hayley Mae. It sucks when you have to go back to your apartment. Really. I just want you here all the time. I know it's a small house. But, we can fix it up. And maybe someday, we can look for something bigger. But I want you here."

Maura's smile grew bigger at every word from Jane's mouth.

"We can move you in when you get home. Does that sound okay? Or do you want to wait a little longer?"

"That sounds perfect." Maura whispered, leaning forward to catch Jane's lips in a kiss

Jane sighed into the kiss, reveling in the feeling.

Maura's fingers found their way into Jane's hair, holding her close.

As Maura's mouth opened to deepen the kiss, Jane pushed her back against the arm of the couch. Maura re-situated her hips enough that Jane's hips could slot between her thighs, bringing them right against each other.

Jane whimpered at the feeling, kissing the blonde languidly.

The brunette pulled away just long enough to whisper, "How have we not done this before?" Her lips finding purchase on Maura's collarbone.

"I'm not sure." Maura flushed, "But I'm glad we're here now."

Maura's hands moved up and down Jane's back with purpose as Jane just barely ground her hips down into the body below her.

One small, sure hand moved down Jane's back to palm a perky ass cheek.

"Maur." Jane groaned, ripping her lips from their new favorite spot on Maura's neck

"Yes, Jane?" Maura smirked

Maura's other hand went down to join its partner and grope at the other cheek.

Jane's lips returned to Maura's, kissing her with determination and gusto.

Before they could lose themselves even further, they both heard the stomp of two feet hitting the floor. Jane ripped herself away and sat back on her feet.

Maura's lips were swollen, her skin flush and her chest rising and falling quickly with the force of her panting.

The footsteps retreated down the hall and they both heard the bathroom door shut.

Jane looked back down to Maura and smiled, "I enjoyed that." She confessed

"I did too. Why did we stop?"

Jane's head tilted just slightly to the side as she smirked, "I don't want our first time to be a rushed quickie on the couch while my daughter sleeps in the other room."

The bathroom door opened a moment later after they heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on briefly.

"Yeah, that sounds like not a great idea." Maura sat upright again before Jane planted another kiss on her lips.

Hayley Mae finally came out and bypassed them in search for something in the kitchen.

"What would you like to tell her about our decisions?"

Jane re-situated on the couch, "Let's wait. I don't want to get her all excited for something that won't happen for a few months, you know?"

"Of course. That's sound."

Hayley Mae walked into the living room with a juice box in her hand, climbed into Maura's lap and handed the box to the blonde, "Open please?"

Maura pulled the straw off, popped it into the hole and handed it back.

The girl took a big swig then twisted her neck to look up at the student, "Cartoons?"

Jane chuckled and flipped the TV on, pulled a blanket over the three of them and they all snuggled into each other.

The brunette looked down at the other woman; a warm feeling settling deep in her chest.

Yeah.

This was perfect.


End file.
